Spoiler Alert!

Do not read this if you believe in Santa.

Many moons ago, The Ex and I decided that we'd let the boys believe in Santa as long as they wanted. But if they ever ask outright, we'd tell them the truth.

When Pokemon Boy was little - like somewhere around two and a half - he visited a mall with a professional Santa. A few days later, he saw another Santa. Totally different. When the man said hi in character, my little 2 yr old genius recoiled, pointed and said, "You're not Santa."

Around the age of three, he asked if Santa was real. We told him, no, he's not. He's a nice concept and it's fun to be generous and pretend. I don't really recall what we said. He was very ok with the answer. So we assumed that Christmas, we'd be Santa-free. But as Christmas rolled around, he kept asking how Santa would get in (we had no fire place). How would he find us (we had just moved to a different town). The Ex and I just shrugged and went along with his selective memory.

He was five when we moved to Texas. That year, he asked again and again we told him Santa wasn't real. That one took. But we told him how we like to pretend and still leave cookies out, etc. It didn't ruin anything for him. He still loves his stocking. He still loves his big Santa gift by the fire place.

SO...along comes Lil'Bro. As we kept the myth alive for Lil'Bro, PB would mention Santa-type things and give me a wink. My co-conspirator. Too funny.

Last week, Lil'Bro asked me, "Mom, is Santa real?" I asked, "Do you really want to know?" "Yes," he replied. PB came closer - preparing to do some damage control. "Well, honey," I began, "no. Santa is not real." Lil'Bro's face blanched. A look of pain brought his eyebrows together. A little piece of my heart broke. Oh man, look what you've done. I answered so matter-of-factly. PB had no issues either time we told him. He was like, "Hmm...interesting." Not so with Lil'Bro.

Both PB and I tried to reassure Lil'Bro that it's ok and how we can still pretend and it doesn't change any part of the holiday, etc. His pained look didn't change. I said, "Are you ok with this?" He shook his head. "I just want Santa to be real," he said in the saddest little voice. I said, "Honey, you can believe whatever you want."

A few minutes passed. Then Lil'Bro started asking PB and me questions about Santa. So apparently, he decided to discard the painful and unacceptable information. I can respect that. Sorry. I don't like that information. I'll just put that right over here [plunk] and move on.

So the week has passed with many questions about how Santa makes it all the way around the world in one night. How does he know which presents go to which house. How does he get in with no chimney.

When he's ready for the spoiler, he can ask again.

A Rough Week for Pokemon Boy

Pokemon Boy is an awesome kid. He's loving, empathetic, creative and silly. Unfortunately, he inherited a double sided whammy of anger and worry. Both his father and I have had our issues with temper tantrums. Some as kids, some as adults. And we're both pretty big worriers.

This week, PB has gotten his Nintendo DS and computer put off limits for 4 days. Then two more days were added. Then he got grounded for the first time ever. For a week. He will also have to do some kind of "community service". He'll help his teacher after school on Monday for one piece of it. And for the other, I'm not sure. I'm toying with having him pick up the dog poop from a neighbor's yard.

This is just a ton to dole out in a week. At least for PB. He very rarely does things that actually require consequences beyond losing his DS for a day.

The first incident came on Monday. He was told to put away the laptop in class. When he didn't, a friend started to do it for him. The friend didn't realize that turning off the laptop just lost PB's unsaved work. PB lost his cool and pushed the friend, yelling "I wasn't done with that!" The email I got said he hit the friend. But in school, pushing or hitting, it ain't cool. So that lost the gaming screen time (DS/computer) for 4 days.

On Wednesday, he had to skip recess to make up 2 assignments that he had forgotten and left in his desk. When his teacher told him he'd have to work through recess, he had a big anger thing. It was bad enough where she had to escort him to the library for study time (he usually goes on his own with no problem). So for this one, it was two fold. We've been working on remembering to bring things to and from school. Nothing was working so a month ago, we agreed that, for each assignment or thing he forgets to bring home or take to school, he'd lose gaming time for a day. Since this was involving two assignments he left in his desk, he got the added 2 days of no gaming screen time. For pitching a fit that required his teacher to escort him to study time, he is doing the "community service" of helping her in her classroom after school on Monday. I actually think he'll have fun doing it. But he's worried about it so it fits the consequence bill for me.

Then, Friday, he told me that he had another physical altercation with a classmate. It was the classic "Hey, I was here first" thing when getting lined up. PB actually thinks he may have been wrong so he felt doubly bad about it. But he ended up shoving the classmate. And this just after we'd had a talk about this. I told him that, since we had just addressed this in the same week and the gaming loss wasn't driving it home, I grounded him for a week. In my house, laying hands on another kid in anger will not fly. You can call me wimpy or over-reactive. Knock yourself out. But in my house? Boys will be boys. Boy will NOT be little hooligans.

I watch little boys pummel each other on the playgrounds all the time. In school, too. I know teachers ignore quite a bit of it. But I also see an unspoken agreement between those boys. It's part of their play. But PB is not a pummel-player. We have never allowed anger-based hitting or pushing. I would never allow another kid to do it to either of my boys. I certainly won't wave this off when he's pushing another kid just because he can't control his frustration.

We talked a long time about how the gifted math program is stressing him out. I asked if anything else was stressing him out - waiting to see if he mentioned missing dad or my being out of work. But in his conscious mind, the advanced math is what's frustrating and stressing him out the most. I do wonder, though.

My brother-in-law, TallGuy, mentioned to BigSis that PB's recent issues with stress and anger are classic child-of-divorce stuff. I hate to admit it but I definitely think that's a factor.

Each time we've had to address any of these issues, his self-esteem has been in the toilet. Each time, he is a mess of worry. Worry about how angry I'm going to be. He told me that, every time he gets in trouble, he thinks this will be the one that makes me really really angry. He actually told me once that he wonders if each time he's bad, this will be the one that makes me stop loving him. When I started one of the discussions this week, I said something like, "PB, we need to talk about..." and he quickly added, "...that I'm a bad kid." He really has an amazingly low self image at times. And other times, his ego is off the charts. I don't really understand it but I do. If that makes any sense.

Someone recently told me he just needs to stop being so overly dramatic and move on. Yes. There are times when he's just being the drama king. But these other times - like this week - it's real. And it's deep seeded. I'm not going to ignore this and expect him to just move on. He's nine. He's in a world of stress. Even if some of it is created in his mind, it's real to him. And while I won't enable it, I won't ignore it.

I'm praying a lot. I don't have all the answers. I get good feedback from friends and family. But as anyone knows, even the best advice may not fit you perfectly. I really want God to show me exactly how to be the best mom for PB. I want PB to enjoy this advanced math opportunity. I want him to appreciate that not everyone gets this chance. I want him to know he's special without becoming arrogant. I wish he could see himself the way I see him.

This is quite rambling. Sorry.

Creative Friends: #3 In A Series

My weekly series on my creative friends requires care. Not everyone I know will appreciate my thoughts on their lives being plastered where anyone can see them. You know, like Johnny Depp is a very private guy. Hahahaha! Oh that was funny.

I figure the next pal can handle my blogging adoration:

Trish/Trish's Dishes
I'm pretty sure Trish was the first non-family member to start reading and commenting on my blog. I met Trish back in 2005 while I still lived in Boston. If you've followed my blog for a while, you know that story. I was going to link to a story about her but, after searching my blog, I realize that I write about her ALL the time.

Anyway, Trish is of a group that intimidates me. She's a Writer. She uses...like...words and stuff! I mean, what kind of craziness is that? She's the kind of person that can catch me using not correct grammerificationating. She knows the difference between 'effect' and 'affect'. She knows when to say "Trish and I" or "Trish and me". She can correctly use big words! These are scary people to me. I'm a former math major. A college drop out. A computer geek. I depend on spell check. I depend on hanging around with people like me who won't care when I end a sentence with a preposition...at.

Thankfully, Trish is as imperfect as she is awesomely talented. She is the last person to point the red correction pen at anyone. She is amused at my word makeupification.

Trish wrote a book back in 2008 called 'He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not'. I love it. I have given out probably 10 or more copies to family and friends. Quite a few people that read the copies I gave them told me how much they loved it. They could all relate. They loved her writing style. They were drawn in by her humor mixed with accessibility. I think a lot of women were able to relate to - if not all of it - parts of her story. My sister read it and then gave it to her teenage daughter to read. My niece loved it, too.

Trish just finished her 2nd book and I am eagerly awaiting its release next April. Book Anticipation rocks! And now Trish is trying her hand at a novel. Can't wait to read that one, too.

Creative Friends: I Have A Butt-Load

So I had this idea that, every Friday, I'll post something about one of my 952,000 creative friends. Especially if they have wares to sell. I'm realizing I'll never get through the list if I only feature one a week. So here are two of my Creatives from differing sides of the artistic spectrum.

Jaime Lee/Like Nailing Jello to a Wall
Jaime is one of my Awesome Blogger Chicks that I've never actually met. I don't really recall how we first connected. I think she found my blog through common pal Trish and left me some comments. We then connected on Facebook and leave each other silly comments and messages. She is beautiful, funny, inspiring and very supportive. Especially for someone who doesn't actually know me.

Jaime is a singer from my previous home city, Boston. When I first saw that, I wasn't expecting much. And let me explain that.

An Aside: Anyone from a huge music city like Boston, Austin, Nashville, L.A., NYC, etc., will understand. When you live in one of those music-centric cities, you run into every 3rd person and their brother saying, "I'm in a band!" or "I sing," or "I play [insert instrument of your choice here]." The first few hundred times I heard this, I would get all excited and be like, "Wow! Where are you playing? I want to see you!" and I was an instant fan. After sitting through painfully horrid set after painfully horrid set, I became more cautious with my fanaticism. So then, when someone told me they were a performer of any kind up in Boston, I'd be like, "Yah, you and everyone else I know." Which is mean. I doubt I actually said it. But I thought it. Also, keep in mind that I worked in a rock club for 4 years. Man, if THAT doesn't kill your love of music, I don't know what will. I saw 3 bands a night. The newbies would come off the stage as if the had just rocked the Garden. "Well? What do you think?!" To be honest, most of them didn't make an impression. If I can't recall anything you did 45 seconds after you left the stage, you have some work to do.

There were the rare gems. And many of them have moved on to cool things like performing with national touring shows like Blue Man Group or Rocky Horror or Stomp or Hannah Montana. Many are making a living creating music for sound tracks in NYC or L.A. Many are professional songwriters, producers or music managers. You'd be surprised to find out how small the world is. I guarantee you that you've heard something that one of my friends has touched.

So you can see how I'm a bit jaded when someone declares them self a musician. Then add to that the fact that I have a very unforgiving ear and am a vocal snob. Oh yah. Good times.

When I finally heard some of Jaime's songs, I was very happily blown away. She's GOOD. And not in that "but my grandma says I'm amazing" way that all those Idol wannabes are "good". She is VERY good. Like I will buy her stuff when it's available. And I am now campaigning to be her backup singer. Granted, I can't tour and I live about 1600 miles away. But still, why can't she just shift her whole life to accommodate me?!

So if you like what you hear on her MySpace link I provided above, you can download those 3 songs on her music website for free. I personally think she'd be a great addition to anyone's iPod who loves beautiful vocals.

Jane/Painted House 52
My friend Jane is like family. Like family that you can bare your soul to and expect to end up laughing. Like super close supportive loving family...that you've never met. Yes, she is another of my Awesome Blogger Chicks. We met a couple of years ago through my blog. She found my blog while looking for...I think she was looking for other moms of exceptionally awesome kids.

So Jane and I initially bonded over our boys. She has become a staple of support in my life. We talk on the phone all the time. We are good sounding boards for each other.

Jane is an artist in the physical mediums. And I say mediums - plural. She can paint. She can sew. She can refinish old furniture and make it look like something people would pay HUGE money for here in Austin. She makes gorgeous jewelry. I'm always astounded by her works. She makes it look so easy but I know I couldn't even come close!

This is an ottoman Jane recovered and painted.

If you want to see some of her current stuff for sale, she has an esty store. She is an amazing talent and I could easily see her making a living from her sales. While I'm not an art snob like I am a vocal snob, I don't like everything. I love her stuff. It's very "me". So go check it out and see if it floats your boat. Even if you don't buy anything, I bet you'll enjoy browsing.

Focus!

Pokemon Boy is struggling this year. His teachers, counselors and therapists use words like "genius" and "brilliant" when they talk about him. As such, he has coasted through school in years past. He could float into class, listen with half an ear and still get As and Bs.

This year, he is in the gifted program for math. He's in 4th grade. And even I (former math major) have trouble understanding his homework. Part of that is that I haven't touched geometry or algebra in over 30 years. But the concepts are hard. They require focus and his full attention.

Pokemon Boy has the ability to comprehend almost anything. But if you can't give something your full attention, you usually will not succeed 100% in that thing. That pretty much applies to life. It certainly applies to advanced math. Pokemon Boy struggles as much with staying focused as most of us struggled with calculus.

For the first time, he is in a class where he will have to listen, work to understand and struggle to get As. This is a painful adjustment for him so far. He has brought home grades that span from the 60s to 100s. Somehow, he made the A/B Honor Roll for the first semester. It has shaken his confidence to the core. He has told me he isn't smart enough to be in the gifted program. He thinks everyone else is coasting and smarter than him. He's embarrassed to tell his teacher that he's not getting everything the first time. It's heart breaking.

In 2006, when Pokemon Boy was first diagnosed with Tourette's, the psychiatrist told me that she had thought ADHD when he first bounced into the room. But after talking with him, she ruled that out and honed in on Tourette's.

His inability to stay focused is rather typical in that he can be obsessively focused on something he loves. If they could figure out how to present algebra in Pokemon terms, he'd be all over it. But if he doesn't totally love something, he is easily distracted. And by easily, I mean, he's usually mentally checked out within seconds.

It's not all defiance or poo-poo-ing subjects he doesn't like. He is more inside his head than anyone I know. He thinks. Way more than a 9 yr old needs to. As he told me recently, every thought leads to a new one. You stare at a wall and think, "I wonder if that's cinder block or cement...I wonder who figured out to make cinder blocks hollow....bricks are solid..." then you're off picturing the brick making scene in The Ten Commandments which leads to thinking about what it must be like to make costumes for Hollywood movies which jumps you over to picturing the big Hollywood sign which leads to you pondering which font those letters are which makes you think of a little alphabet train you had as a kid which makes you think how fun it would be to travel across the country in a train which makes you picture the train scene in White Christmas and how sleeper cars don't look like that any more.

That's just a real-time sample from my head (which tells you I watch too many movies). Pokemon Boy gets like that. I've watched it happen. He glazes over. I always say, "He's just not there." It's not so much that he's tuning out his surroundings. It's more that he's diving so deep into his thoughts, he can't hear the surroundings that are way up there in that fading light of the surface.

So the boy's confidence is shaken. Deeply. His teachers see it. I see it. I tell him he's smart enough. I tell him I know he can do it. We discuss techniques to help him focus. We limit screen time. And if this were his only stress, I think it would be easily overcome.

But add onto that his worry over mom not working. What it mom can't find a job? What if we lose the house? What if we have to move? How much of our stuff would we have to sell?

Then toss on to that pile all the worry about his dad. Poor dad. He's lonely. I miss him so he must miss me. I want to go live with dad for a while. But that will upset mom. And I'll miss Lil'Bro.

Et cetera ad nauseum.

Other than praying, I can't think of a thing to do to remove the pile of stress. To build up his confidence. To help him enjoy the advanced classes.

Other than praying. I say that like that's nothing. I know it's something. It's more powerful than any physical thing I could say or do. But this imperfect physical being wants to DO something. I want to take an action to solve my son's problems. I want to jump into my Wonder Woman suit and save his world.

Well, his teacher is going to confer with her colleagues to see if they have suggestions. I will probably make an appointment to get Pokemon Boy reevaluated. It's been a while since he's seen a psychiatrist. I'll work with his teachers, school counselor and play therapist.

And I'll pray.

I will never stop praying.

Braggin' On Me Big Boy-o...Again...

Today was the assembly for 4th graders. They don't get as many dog tags as kindergartners. So it was a much shorter assembly.

Pokemon Boy got an A/B Honor Roll dog tag. I'm so very proud of him. Last year, he got All-A Honor Roll all year. But this year is his first year in the gifted advanced math program. So he has had to struggle. He's brought home tests and homework with grades spanning the alphabet. I didn't think he'd get the honor role this semester due to the struggle of adjusting to the kind of effort most of us have to put into math. The years of coasting are over for him. But he's worked hard. He stepped up when he wanted to quit. This A/B Honor Roll rocks. He missed the All-A because of one B. And that was in math. Which makes sense.

My boys are a mother's dream. They make my life so awesome.

Braggin' On Me Wee Boy-o

Last spring, I was bragging about Pokemon Boy's awards from school. Well, Lil'Bro seems to be following in his footsteps.

Yesterday, I attended the kindergarten award ceremony expecting that Lil'Bro would only get the one dog tag every kinder kid gets to start them off. He got FIVE. So cool especially when you're not expecting them!

The dog tags are...
The Tiger tag - the initial tag that comes with the chain. All kinder got one.
Paw Pride - most improved - 2 per each class.
Star Student - Art - the Art teacher chose this.
Reading/Writing - knows all letters and sounds.
Math - 1 - 21 # recognition and counting to 100.

So cool.

Overheard

Overheard yesterday after dinner:

Lil'Bro: "Mom, I'm still hungry. I must be having a growth spout!"

I Won! Woo HOO!

I was about to type that I never win anything. But I think I've won a few things here and there in my 44 years. Anytime, however, I do win something, I totally get all excited.

As my pal was wrapping up her old blog, she had a quick jewelry give away. Since I was the only comment, I won! How funny is that?! I told her not to rush and just get it to me when she could. She got it here just in time for the end of my birth-month (hee hee!). Here is a picture of me wearing it this afternoon as I watched my boys play in the gorgeous cool sunny day.

Thanks Stacy. You totally made my birth-month!

Job Hunt - Belly Intellesting

If you recall from my previous post, I had a great interview with a local company. I've been in communication with them now for two months, all told. They were working on getting me an offer for a position I really wanted. I've kept looking, however. Because, until you have the offer in your hot little hands, you ain't got nothin'. I will confess, I had been doing much more minimal work in my continued job search because most of the conversations with the company sounded very positive. It seemed a done deal.

Today, I received an email that the requisition for my position had not been approved by senior management. So no job.

It's a bit of a blow, I admit. But again, I'm very surprised by how calm I am. I'm not dancing around farting rainbows or anything. Not by any means. [Although, that would be pretty cool! But I digress.]

So here we go. It's all you, God. I'm ok with wherever you take this. Just help me be patient. And point me in the right direction.

Creative Friends: I Have A Few

This is a link to my friend's new etsy site, Cherry Baby Creations. LadyT is one of my awesome church family. I sing with her hubby when he either leads worship or plays drums on the worship team. Together, they are ridiculously talented and creative.

One of the gorgeous head bands LadyT offers:


Recently, they collaborated on their best creation yet. BabyE. She's one of the cutest babies ever. And I mean EVER. LadyT started bringing BabyE to church with very cute little head bands with bows or flowers or just patterns on them.

Now let me interject here, I have NEVER been a fan of baby head wear. Mostly because, in the 80s and 90s, they mostly consisted of elastic bands that were way too small for most baby heads and seriously dug ruts and canals into the scalps of these poor defenseless little babies. I also pretty much thought they looked awful. But that last bit is just a taste thing.

So when they started bringing BabyE around with head wear, I initially started turning up my snobby nose. Until I saw that they were made of the most soft supple material that never seemed to bother her. Plus, they were so cute on her and matched her outfits. I begrudgingly admitted to LadyT that I actually LIKED them (gasp!). [I'm still not the type to put such things on my own girls which is probably why God gave me two boys.]

I came to find that LadyT made these things for BabyE. Everyone at church started saying she should sell them and now she is! So if you know anyone who might like this, please send them her way. I really think she is making very comfortable items that will NEVER leave dents in your baby's scalp! I mean, come ON! Even *I* like them!

My Birthday Presents From The Boys

Just had to show you what my boys "bought" me (with my mom's money) yesterday.

The plush Pokemon is...um...it's a...let me think...oh good grief, I think I have to go Google it. I can't remember. Oh right! It's a Shaymin. Thank goodness for bookmarked Pokemon sites. And the shirt is the other present. My mom said Pokemon Boy picked out both presents and Lil'Bro agreed to them both.

So there you go. Pretty cool, huh?

Happy To ME!

A friend on Facebook sent me birthday sentiments, courtesy of her two year old. It said, "Happy to YOOOOU! Happy to YOOOOU!" I think that nails it.

My mom's surprise that she put up last night (see my post from yesterday) was so cool! Here's a picture. Do I love my mom or WHAT?!


I dropped the boys off at school. The migraine was gone. The tummy was still tentative. I went home and plopped on the couch. I treated myself to a PayPerView movie: X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Hugh Jackman contractually obligated to take his shirt off every three minutes? Why not!

I spent tons of time on Facebook reading a never ending cornucopia of birthday greetings. All of which were so cool. It's a quick little thing people can do. Facebook tells you the next three days' worth of birthdays for all of your connections. You just jump over and put a quick little blurb. It may seem superficial. But man, I loved it!

I got phone calls from dad, BigBroS, BigBroE, and BigSis. I got a text from my wonderful cousin.

I went to the boys' school to stuff weekly folders for Lil'Bro's class. Which means I got to see a bunch of his little pals that I adore. So cool.

I came home, went to CVS to get some double chocolate milanos. That's as big as I can go right now. My stomach is still funky today. So no big dinners. Mom came to pick up the boys. She's taking them shopping for me. Should be interesting to see what they think I need. How much money says Pokemon Boy brings home some diet pills? HA! And mom will be bringing home some dinner since I'm still a bit on the whiny sick side.

YAY for awesome birthdays filled with love and sweet words from friends and family. And yay again for my mom.

WOO HOO!! I'm FOTY-FO!!! Dig it, man.

I Can't Even Tell You How Much My Mom Rocks!

Seriously: My mom rocks. Yes. We all know I feel this way. But man, when your mom is just the bomb diggity, how in the world can you ever hope to repay her?

My dad has been sick lately. It's nasty and unfun in the details so I won't post them to the general masses here. He has been sick, on meds and VERY uncomfortable for weeks now. When dad (or mom) isn't well, I keep my little family away. Not because I'm afraid I'll catch anything. But to give them their recovery space. When I'm sick, the last thing I want is to have to keep up with someone else's energetic kids!

Then I got sick over a week ago. And mine is contagious. So now I'm staying away from them for THEIR sakes. Which is a bummer for everyone because they love my boys, my boys love them and I love being around them.

Today was my 2nd venture to the doctor. I went from bad sinus congestion (ambiguous virus - one of many going around) to nasty bronchitis in a matter of 3 days. As I came home from the doc, my sinuses were giving me quite a pounding in the head. I picked up my boys and went to CVS to get my scrip filled. The headache was getting worse. But you know, it's sinus congestion and it gets painful sometimes.

By the time I returned from CVS, the headache had gone into "Hey, maybe this is a migraine" mode. I popped the migraine meds but apparently missed my window. I had barely gotten the boys' mac & cheese prepared and I was running upstairs to shove my head in the toilet. After washing up (and noticing I was completely devoid of color), I headed back down to slop the kids. As soon as I saw and smelled the food, however, it was round two. I was barely able to toss the mac & cheese in two bowls and yell to Pokemon Boy to get it on the table for him and his brother. After round two of the puke fest (complete with feeling like my head would explode with each turn of the stomach), I made it to my bed, called mom and whimpered my plea.

Mom showed up in about 10 minutes. The boys were surprised but she explained that their mom had a headache that makes her throw up and she was there to get them into bed.

I laid in bed in complete darkness with a pillow over my head asking God to protect my mom from any contagion in the house. And then I thought I heard crying. I made it into Pokemon Boy's room to find him crying. He had forgotten that tomorrow was my birthday. Therefore, he had not made/bought anything for me in time. And he was crushed. Because (as he informed us), I always get such great presents for HIM on his birthday. HE wanted to do something just as awesome for ME.

Oh man. My mom and I both talked him down for quite a while. There is just no way to explain to a 9 yr old that birthday presents or birthdays in general are less important to you when you're 44.

Pokemon Boy went to bed still sniffing and snuffling. Mom shooed me back to bed and went downstairs to "clean up a bit". For any of you who know her or her family, you realize that my kitchen is completely spotless now. I think she would have put the toys away in the living room, too, had I not come down to tell her to get back home.

She sent me off to bed and told me she was going to leave me something special to wake up to in the morning. I think she did this more for Pokemon Boy than for me. But I listened to her puttering around down here for about 30 minutes or more. I came down to post this. But I left the kitchen dark. I didn't really look because I want to leave the surprise she intended.

But man. My mom knows this house might have a virus or who knows what. And my dad is still not 100%. But when her 44 yr old baby called, she didn't even bat an eye. She high tailed it over here.

I love my parents so much. There is no way on earth I'll ever be able to repay all that she has done for me over my life time. But I can keep thanking God for them. And I can keep asking him to bless them beyond anything they can imagine. I guess all I can do is pay it forward to my boys. And my friends.

Thank you, mom. And thanks, dad, for giving up your nurse for the evening.

----

OH - and as an addendum! TJ texted me tonight. She will be released to go home tomorrow. That's all I know. But how cool a birthday present is THAT?!

A Halloween Diversion

For those of you that don't already read my friend Beck's blog, I have a treat for you. Beck is an amazing writer and mom (I've asked her repeatedly to adopt me). For Halloween, she has been putting a dark spin on some classic children's stories. They just keep getting better and better and freakier and freakier. Here are links to her first six:

Halloween Story #1
Halloween Story #2
Halloween Story #3
Halloween Story #4
Halloween Story #5
Halloween Story #6
[Edited to add subsequent stories. I'll keep adding them here as she writes them.]
Halloween Story #7
Halloween Story #8
Halloween Story #9

Enjoy!

More Prayers for TJ Please

I just got a text message from TJ. It just said,

"Just readmitted. More critical. Will probably be unavailable for a bit. More prayers please."

There you go, my wonderful praying friends. More prayers, please.

TJ is Home!

Just got a call from TJ. She came home from the hospital today. It sounds like all the doctors are in agreement and that she has a rare disease that she picked up from her caving. She didn't have medical terms or names for me. But she said it's rare enough where they'll have to consult with other specialists to determine the course of treatment.

So the good news is, this is not autoimmune or something deadly. She said that news was a God-send. She's home on a bunch of antibiotics and other meds. She still sounds winded but in great spirits. Her Facebook entries still have her crazy humor. So I know she's doing better!

While all of this news gives everyone relief, she is still in rough shape. I just started a cold or some such sinus thing so I can't go near her. GAH! But I can offer to bring her family stuff or to cover her duties as a school volunteer. I just want to go sit on the couch with her, though. Oh well. We said we'll have to settle for sending each other silly text messages and pictures over the phone.

Thank you ALL for your prayers. She knows she has been hugely covered through this. I'm sure that has helped. Continued prayer for her comfort and recovery are welcome. Your collective faith is amazing and I love being able to count on it!

Update on TJ

Over the weekend, TJ was admitted to a local hospital. The pain and discomfort was just becoming too much to handle at home. I've talked to her a few times and her spirits are as up as can be. She has her little NetBook at the hospital and is keeping touch through email and Facebook.

Today, they are going to scope her lungs. Which means a camera down the throat and into the lungs. I have heard this is not a pleasant procedure. I have no idea what time she's having this. She may be done already for all I know.

They are hoping that the scope will give them an idea of what this is. One theory is that she picked up some kind of mold or fungus from some caving she does. Just hard to say at this point.

Thanks for all of the emails and comments for her. I will share them with her once I have a chance. Your prayers are welcome and I thank you guys for your faith and prayers for strangers. You all rock.

4:11pm update:
I called TJ's hospital room and she had just returned from the biopsy. So the scope turned into a biopsy. I don't know much more than that. But hopefully the biopsy will tell them something. She was sore and exhausted (I can't imagine!) but in good spirits.

Prayer Request

For all of my praying bloggers, please pray for my pal TJ. She's the mom of two boys that are great friends with my boys. She is one of those always-there-for-you friends. She lets me be as imperfect or goofy as I need to be. She makes me laugh until I need adult diapers and she has let me cry rivers of snot all over her t-shirt.

You get the picture.

Anyway, TJ has been coughing for a while. This week, it has progressed to extreme pain and coughing up blood. The CT scan shows hemorrhaging in her lungs. Right now, it's very early in this discovery. The doctors haven't seen this before. They don't know what it is. It's a giant question mark. She is young and usually healthy. With such extreme symptoms, you can imagine where her mind (and the minds of her loved ones) are going.

I'm praying huge. I'm asking for any prayer you all feel led to send up.

Thank you for your faith and prayers.

...And Did I Mention My Church ROCKS?

Last Sunday, I approached one of our head pastors (our head pastors are a married couple and I adore them both). I related a particular struggle I was having that I won't bore you with here. Suffice it to say, it is a very hard thing to cut all of the myriad of connections from a 17 yr long relationship.

Both pastors Kenny & Michelle have walked this long divorce path with me. They have prayed from a distance. They have prayed right over me. They have both endured fountains of tears from me. They have cheered me on as God pulled me up onto my feet. They have loved on my boys. They are just awesome.

So I related my current struggle to Michelle. She went home and talked to Kenny. Then, today, she met me at a local coffee joint (no, not that Coffee Joint) and sat talking with me for about 3 hours. It was so nice. She is one of the Safety Zone people at my church. You know, one of the people you know you can say anything to and they totally know where you're coming from. I rarely have to worry about how something will sound. She's so open, loving and forgiving. She lets me talk. She gives me her thoughts. We exchange ideas. We jump off and on subject. And it doesn't phase either one of us.

Being a pastor is hard hard work. It's a huge sacrifice. I can't imagine how they pull it off. And yet she offered up 3 hours of her day for me today. To guide and encourage. To be my sounding board. To listen and laugh. What a wonderful wonderful way to serve.

I could write blog entries on how uniquely special so many of my church family members are to me. But today, Michelle gave me a real gift. Because who in this world ever offers up 3 hours of their time to one other person? Pretty awesome.

Yah. My church rocks.

Dumb Ol' Divorce

You know, I posted so many entries during the whole divorce thing. This was my outlet and lifeline of sorts back then. I don't post much about it these days because A) it hasn't been running my life lately, B) it's hard to keep entries from turning into an ugly bitch session and C) I don't really think about it much.

But I'm going to post this because A) it's about Pokemon Boy and B) I'm kind of looking for feedback. Bare with me. I will ramble a bit here.

And by "kind of looking for feedback", I mean, I want feedback that comes from a place of love and encouragement. If the only thoughts that come into your head are of bashing The Ex, I get that. But keep them to yourself. That's all I ask.

So a couple of weeks ago, I was standing at church having a conversation with someone about how cool it had been that The Ex had traveled all the way down here for Pokemon Boy's baptism. I guess I was commenting on the distance and didn't realize Pokemon Boy was nearby. He suddenly said, "But mom, YOU'RE the one that took us away from dad." Gah? I was really at a loss. All I said was, "Let's talk about this later." And I never got around to it.

Yesterday, we were driving home from church and Pokemon Boy asked me "Do you think it would be hard to live without your kids?" I wasn't sure where he was going with this. "I'd find it almost impossible to live without you guys," I replied. But then I asked if he meant when he got old enough, he'd move out. And he said, "No, like right now. If we didn't live with you." So I told him how I'd be incredibly sad without them and figured we were moving on to a topic of death or other tragedies. Nope. "Yah," he continued, "that must be how dad feels."

Oh boy.

It's very hard for me, this line of conversation. Right now, the boys have glorified their dad into this sad, lonely victim. I have to put on the strong face and keep everything moving. I am the present parent and disciplinarian. Therefore, I am the unfun parent. I also think that, since I am no longer moping around and lost, it might appear that I don't care about any of this. Pokemon Boy has made it clear that, when I talk about dad or the divorce, it sounds like I never loved him. Of course he has no idea of the pain I went through or the work I did with God to make it through this broken time and arrive on the other side whole and ok with being single. He doesn't understand that, when I talk about "dad", I have to put on a poker-face and use a very level voice. It doesn't hurt to talk about him any more but for years it did. I can see how my strength - when filtered through a child's sad longing for his dad - would look uncaring and calloused.

It's especially hard because, long story short, their dad chose to pursue another woman. He chose this over the hard choice of staying near and being there for his two children. I think this is the sticking point for almost every person close to this story. Since 2007, my constant prayer has been for God to put true forgiveness in my heart for The Ex and his girl thing. And God is working miracles in that department. But I tell you, the one stumbling block for me is this same issue. He chose the girl thing over his own children. Back in 2007, when he was leaving to move 2000 miles away, I said, "You will break your boys' hearts!" His only reply was that he couldn't break the girl thing's heart. I will never forget that.

So here is my boy. Deeply intelligent. Deeply feeling and sensitive. He sees his dad as lonely and sad. Because when dad visits here, he stays alone in a hotel. And every time he leaves, he cries. When the boys have video calls on the computer, there is a sadness that hangs over their dad. Because I think every time he talks to or sees them, it pulls at his heart. And it damn well should. Unfortunately, the boys see this sadness from their limited perspective and think, Oh poor dad. He's so lonely. Pokemon Boy has said to me on quite a few occasions that maybe he should live with dad for x months and then with me for that long. In my head I reply, "Over my dead cold body, honey." But my mouth usually says something lame and comforting.

During our discussion yesterday, Pokemon Boy really opened up. He keeps it bottled up because he sees how words can hurt someone. He doesn't understand the divorce but he knows I was hurt deeply. He knows daddy stopped loving me and now loves another woman. So he is very careful about what he says to me. He does not like seeing anyone hurt. And he tries very hard to never be the one that brings that hurt. I could see he was about to burst with emotion yesterday. I reassured him he can say anything to me at this point. He can talk about daddy to me, it's ok. I explained that, even if something hurts me, God will take care of it and that I'm here to listen.

Finally it all came flying out. He tried to hold back the crying because he's at that age. But oh man. It came out. Just a jumble of missing daddy. Wishing daddy could live closer. Why did he leave? Why did I let him leave? Why did I let the marriage break up? Why can't daddy come back here? The saddest of all was after that torrent broke. When he was calmer and could think a bit.

He finally confessed - and I could tell it was so hard - that even though he understood "it was mostly dad leaving us," he was still kind of mad at me, too. All I could do was assure him that it was ok to feel that. And to reaffirm that he was right. Even though ultimately daddy left the family and I couldn't stop him, it took both me and dad being imperfect to get to that point.

The one that broke my heart, though...he held it back for a long time. I don't think he wanted to speak it. When he speaks something, that admission makes it a truth. And this was something I could tell he didn't want to be a truth. He looked at me and could barely speak it out. His face was a trembling mess. "I just feel like...well...I don't have a dad."

There it is. All the phone calls and video chats in the world don't make up for a 2000 mile logistical gap. Pokemon Boy's therapist warned The Ex about this. His own family warned him about this. The reality is, you cannot be a Dad from 2000 miles away. You can love. You're still their father. But a Dad is the one who is here, sowing into the kids every day.

I called The Ex and told him as much of the conversation as I could remember. Not to throw it in his face. We both try to communicate all of these hard conversations so we both know where the kids are coming from and are on the same page for when/if it happens again.

So my dilemma is what to say to my boys. Pokemon Boy is the tough one. Lil'Bro, at 5, is the kind that just says, "I miss dad," but doesn't cry and it doesn't seem to occupy his mind often.

We're all fallible humans. I, first amongst the fallible! Our gut instinct is usually not the best option. I have had multiple people advise me in the direction of tell the boys what a jerk their dad is. "Tell them the truth! They need to know and understand it now." The person saying this meant to tell my boys an age appropriate version of the truth but with no buffering. The person saying this has been in my shoes but her ex makes mine look like a saint. She has taken this tact with her daughters. And she did not hold back much. Knowing what her ex has done, I'm not so sure she was wrong to do it. But I do wonder if her daughters will ever be able to fix a relationship with their dad. If he ever turns his life around and isn't a scary danger, will they forgive him?

I can understand this avenue. But at the same time, there's a part of it that feels wrong to me. There is something very real about shredding some one's image - whether they deserve it or not. I think about the Proverbs that talk about honoring your parents. And I remember wondering how in the world someone who has been abused or someone who has absentee addicted parents is supposed to honor their parents. My wonderful pastors suggested that, perhaps if you can't support them in tangible ways, you can honor them by not slandering them. Not smearing their name. Not waving their flags of shame for all the world to see. I think that's a wise thought.

I also wonder, if you give children the whole truth about an imperfect parent, it can scar their view of that parent forever. And if that parent later turns their life around, how does that child now find forgiveness for the parent? I just think of deep personal truths I have held all my life from childhood that are just NOW being challenged as God opens my eyes. Anger I held on to that was born of the immature perspective of a very young kid who didn't have all the information. I'm just now working on shedding some of that.

So if I slam their dad, I don't think I'm being honorable. I have to find truths to tell them. I won't sugar-coat it. But they don't need to know all the intimate horrible details.

The flip side is my human side that doesn't think it's fair that a man who has made all of these awful, hurtful decisions gets to walk away without a scratch on him. He chose to leave his children and now he's a glorified sad victim. He left them yet sits 2000 miles away saying, "Boy, I miss my kids." It's very very hard to be a good person here. There are times when I call him out and hold his feet to the fire. But those are rare. He is quite good at making his own suffering.

I don't have a lot of people around me that have dealt with divorce while really really trying to follow God. So I don't know who to go to. There are a few. And I talk to them as often as possible to get their perspective and see how they've dealt with things. I suspect there are more people who have been touched by divorce around me than I know. It's not exactly a subject lots of people like to talk about. No matter which role you had in the whole story - it's awful.

Last night, once Pokemon Boy had finally calmed down, I prayed over him. And we prayed for daddy. I have been praying for The Ex since this all began. But I hadn't done it in earshot of the boys. That is a mistake I will now rectify. I told them both that I have always prayed for daddy and now I'll make sure I do that with each of them.

Pokemon Boy turned to me and said, "Mom, I hope this never happens to anyone we know."

Amen, my little man. Amen.

Painting Ain't for Sissies

I have had little paint swatch cards hanging on walls all over my house since 2006. The Ex and I had all sorts of colors picked out for each room. We were going to hire some painters to do the whole interior. Well, it's the last quarter of 2009 and I still have little paint swatch cards hanging in all my rooms. Granted I've changed most of the colors because I can tell you, when you pick colors with someone and then he moves in with someone else, yah, you change those colors.

ANYhoo...

Today I painted my downstairs bathroom. Well, powder room. We Americans call anything with a toilet a "bathroom" which makes no sense at all. So sue me. Anyway, since 2006, I've had two dark smoky blue color swatches hanging in there, battling it out for my affections. Two days ago, I took the two swatches to the store and flipped through those paint idea brochures looking for something stunning that looked like either of my choices. I found a "bathroom" picture that was probably some studio because I doubt many people have 400 square foot bathrooms like that. Anyway, the color was perfect and close to my two contenders. I found the sample swatch and it was similar to my two but lighter. Which I think I needed. It's a small bathroom. By all means, yes, let's make it even smaller by painting it some dark blue color!!

So I annoyed the man behind the counter by having the audacity to ask him to possibly mix me up a gallon of "Bleached Denim" paint. Other people seemed to have the same audacity, what with it having a giant 10 foot sign to the effect of "Paint Supply" right over his head. I did feel bad asking him to do what he is apparently expected to do, but not much.

Sarcasm aside, I got my paint and headed home. It's a heady feeling, buying your first can of paint with which you will cover an entire (albeit small) room. Yes, I'm almost 44 and I've never painted a room. I was a renter until I was 39. None of my landlords seemed to be interested in my interior decorating ideas. And since I always liked getting my deposits back, I was happy to leave the beige walls and just make my STUFF be the color.

Today...I painted. I didn't read anything. I didn't ask anyone how to do it. I figure it should be pretty easy. The guy at the store told me that with a good brush [check] and a steady hand [...er...], I should be able to do the edging without painter's tape. After mucking up about a foot of the door jam, yah, I went and pulled out the painters tape. And while I taped all my edges, I thought to myself, "Why would I have listened to a guy who has probably painted for the last 37 years and could edge free-hand and blind folded?!"

I have very high ceilings. Well, when you're 5'3", anything over 6 ft is "high ceilings". I'm pretty sure mine are 9 feet. And ginormous ladders in teensy powder rooms don't really help you reach the whole thing. Because ginormous ladders don't really fit around sinks and toilets. So I got almost everything painted except one big patch up top over the toilet. Pretty sad looking to have 98% done and this one glaring spot.

Don't get me wrong. I have 3 huge extension poles in my garage. Why three, I do not know. Ask The Ex. But I didn't have a roller or anything that screwed onto said extension pole. So I ran to the same store to purchase that flat edger thingy that you can mount on a pole. You know, that flat edger thingy that the 37 yr painting veteran told me I wouldn't need because of my good brush and steady hand? Yah. THAT flat edger thingy. So I got one and was thankful the 37 yr painting veteran wasn't working that night.

So my bathroom is painted. As I sit here, the bathroom fan is still going - attempting to suck out all the fumes (which aren't that bad, I'm happy to report). Everything is back in the bathroom except the ugly mirror I'm trying to replace. I love the color. I want to paint the rest of my house. But I tell you, I'm going to wait. My little swatches of color will remain hanging where they are. Because I tell you, I just painted a tiny little bathroom today and I'm dead. Beat. In pain. That is HARD work. I'm a wuss. I own my wussiness. I will be saving up to pay some 37 yr painting veteran to come paint the other rooms in my house.








Oh - I need to mention that Lil'Bro helped me paint at one point. I had a regular sized roller and a teeny 3 inch wide roller. He saw that as "his size" and insisted. So I gave him a low spot on the wall to work on. I showed him how to get paint on the roller properly and - to his credit - he did an awesome job. And stuck with it for a good 20 - 30 minutes. He really tried hard. It was so cute. He kept stopping and going, "Whew! This is hard!"

Randomosity

Nothing much happening today but thought I'd toss something out here.

Both boys are home sick today - the second sick day for both. We all got flu vaccines last Friday. Lil'Bro developed a low fever over the weekend and felt punky. I've assumed it's a mild reaction to the flu vaccine. And it was on top of his normal allergies. So it has kind of confused us. The combo of the runny/stuffy nose, general punky feeling and low fever sounds like flu. But I kind of think it's more like a low fever from the vaccine on top of sinus junk from allergies.

Pokemon Boy stayed home yesterday as one of his 3 hookie days I allow. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he developed intestinal distress and a low fever in the early afternoon. Today, he's got a low fever still, but it's climbing. Other than that, he has no symptoms today. So I think his is vaccine reaction, too.

It's so hard to tell how cautious to be right now. The flu and other viruses that are running around the country are just knocking people off their feet. Everything from H1N1 to regular flu to those anonymous viruses. I think about every 4th person I'm connected to has some kind of illness in their house (or just did).

It's a nice couple of sick days. No puking. They're rather quiet because they're not 100%. Yesterday, we spent some of the day on the floor with a Hotwheels race track set up. We alternated between racing little cars and Bakugan balls. Pretty fun.

Today, Lil'Bro is drawing a comic and Pokemon Boy is working on a chapter story he's been writing (for fun) for a few days now. Lil'Bro is learning how to read/spell in school. So right now, I keep hearing him say, "How do you spell 'aaaaaah!' like you're falling?" Pokemon Boy is being very patient, assisting him with spelling for his comic book.

In other news, I'm hearing from the job I interviewed for that they're checking all my references and background. So I'm hoping that's a good sign. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high but I have to admit, they ARE up!

That's it for now.

Job Hunt

Since being laid off last January, I have luxuriously taken the summer off with my boys. But come this past August, I got down to the job hunt in earnest. I haven't talked about it much here because almost all potential employers Google every potential candidate. And while I've made things like Facebook and others private, this remains open for all the world to see. I have no doubt that most interviewers already knew I was a mom (they're not allowed to ask) and that I am divorced and that I'm a total wise ass and that I love to write run on sentences.

Yesterday, I had the best interview I've had yet. I met the potential hiring manager, two of the people under her, an IT director and the HR manager. All I can say at this point is, I love this company. And everyone I met was incredibly nice and really passionate about the company and its mission. Wow. Haven't heard that in a while!

I should have been terrified and wanting to throw up. I was absolutely calm and excited to go. I didn't break out in a horrid sweat. I didn't fumble my words. I didn't let loose with inappropriate subjects (or at least I think I didn't...). I have about 952 thousand people praying for me. So I knew the peace I had was from God.

I drove there yesterday saying, "Ok God, if this job is for me, please give me the right words and help me to present myself honestly and well. If this job is NOT for me, please just don't let me sound like an idiot!"

After the interviews, I was just stoked. I like this company even more, having met some of its people and seen its facilities. But as I got ready to leave, I told God, "Thank you for such a great interview time! This job seems so awesome and I really want it. But if this isn't the best job you have for me, I'm ok with that. Because this one rocks! So if you have something even better than this one? Yah, I'm ok with that!!!"

So we'll see what God has in store...

Baptism, Texas Style!

Today, Pokemon Boy was baptized. Man, it was SO cool on so many levels. The Ex flew in this weekend just for this baptism. My parents came. Big Sis and Tall Guy came. My neighbors that live behind us came. My little sis from Oklahoma would have been here with her whole family but they had a car break down.

Our little church had 8 people get baptized. We're small. So we don't have a baptismal in the church. So when we're ready to baptize, we pull out the horse trough. Awwww yah! That's how we roll: this is baptism Texas style!

Today was pretty amazing. The worship music was really good. The message today was really cool and very poignant. And then the baptism directly afterward. Even The Ex (a non-believer) said there was something...different. I can't remember his exact words but he said you could feel an electricity in the air. I was a giddy mom so I was feeling pretty awesome. I'm just totally stoked that God touched The Ex's heart today.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of Pokemon Boy getting baptized. [Some from The Ex. And I was wielding a point & shoot and my Blackberry Curve. So these are a mix of formats.]

Pokemon Boy was a bit dubious.

PB had to be talked into the water a bit.

Finally got him kneeling!

Pastors Kenny & Michelle get Pokemon Boy prepared.

Almost ready...

PB was nervous about being submerged.

PB is baptized!!

WOO HOO!!!!

Pastor Kenny applauds while pastor Michelle gives him his towel.

My beautiful baptized boy!

Lil'KungFu

Remember how I told you I was training my body guards? Here's Lil'Bro in his kung fu outfit. Could you DIE?!

Tourette's: To Tell or Not To Tell

A new blogger friend over at Tea & Tourette's just asked me a really good question. I thought I'd answer it here in case any other Tourette's family would find it useful.

The Question:
"Do you / your son / his teacher tell the kids in his class about his TS? My daughter's teacher has suggested we do but I am reluctant until we get advice about everything as we know nothing! We live in a small country town so there are support groups, etc. Any advice for us starting on our journey please?"

My Answer (and I'm never short winded):
This is a tough one. I can tell you what we've done so far and why. I certainly won't tell you that my approach is The Way. It's working for us right now. But you might find a different approach is better for your family.

One suggestion I have is to rent or buy the HBO documentary I Have Tourette's But Tourette's Doesn't Have Me. You can see more about it here. If you Google it, you'll find lots of places to purchase and probably watch a lot of it (I saw YouTube in my Google results but didn't go check it out). I would watch this first before deciding whether to share it with your daughter. I showed it to my son when he was about 7. I wasn't going to show him as I was concerned that some of the more severe cases might make him think that this must be how it will be for him. But he found it on our DVR and asked to view it. So I watched it with him. I think it helped him see that he's not alone and that Tourette's can look so different from kid to kid.

The reason I'm suggesting you watch it is, there is a kid in the documentary that has TS. But during the documentary, you'd never know it. He mentions that he's on meds. But he also chose to share Tourette's with his class. He presented it to his class and allowed them to ask questions. I thought it was a very bold move. I also imagine it fostered a lot of tolerance through information.

Now, what I decided to do with my son is different. Pokemon Boy's TS has been very mild in terms of physical tics. His tics are generally rare enough and small enough that no one really notices them. His anxiety and social issues are the bigger factor to me. But so far, he has blended into normal elementary school life (now in 4th grade) normally. There are some kids who label him "kind of weird" or "different". But he has friends and is pretty well liked and respected in his classes.

I inform all of his teachers and care givers (like summer camp care). I explain the severity (or lack there of) and what they might encounter. I actually don't even like doing this much. Because I feel it can label him and give his teachers expectations. I was tempted to just send him without informing anyone to see if they even notice. I've seen other kids his age that have similar social or emotional issues and they're not diagnosed with TS. But, to be fair to his school, I always inform them.

I have always asked that his teachers keep this information confidential - meaning from the other students. Pokemon Boy is a typical 9 yr old and hates being singled out in any way he finds embarrassing. Since his TS is so mild, I have kept to this course of action. In the back of my mind, I have always thought that, if his TS escalates enough where it begins to affect his socialization, I would encourage him to present his diagnosis to his class like the child in the documentary did.

Now, having said all of this, I don't know if I'm making the right decision. As he gets older, I will most likely present the idea to him of sharing his diagnosis with his friends and classmates. Some of his classmates just think of him as Pokemon Boy. He's silly, very smart and LOVES Pokemon. But I heard one little girl just today refer to him as "one of them." She had been talking about Pokemon Boy and another little boy that goes to their school. I don't know his diagnosis but I do know that he has some kind of emotional issues that affect his social signals and ability to control his actions. Children don't need to know an official diagnosis to know that something is different about someone. Pokemon Boy and this other little boy both have times when they blow their tops. They get upset over some things that don't bother most other kids. And they also let things slide that other kids might go ballistic over. Most kids will have tantrums now and then. But when kids with emotional disorders blow their stack, it's often a bit different. And other kids tune into that difference.

So there is a part of me that thinks, in a perfect world, if Pokemon Boy was able to work up a presentation that was informative and honest, his classmates would all understand him better and be more patient, more accepting. But I also know that there are a few kids that will use this information as a weapon. Any time they feel like pushing his buttons, that's what they'd go for.

Like I said, I don't know that I have taken the perfect stance for us. But it feels right for us at this moment. I take my cues mostly from my son. If he was excited about sharing, I'd be working with his teacher and counselor to have him present to his class and maybe other classes. It's a subject I will probably bring up with him now that I've thought about it and actually put my answer out here in writing. If he decides to take a different path, I will definitely write about it here.

Oktic, my email is in my full profile. If you ever want to ask me anything offline, email me. I'll share just about anything. If you want to ask here, I'll answer here, too. I hope this has helped.

I know you're in another part of the world but the TSA-USA.org website is very useful [I read through almost the whole site within the first 2 weeks of his diagnosis!]. Pokemon Boy enjoyed reading their online news letter written by kids with TS for kids with TS. It's called That Darn Tic. I think it helped him realize he wasn't alone and there were other normal kids out there just like him. Take a look and see if it's something you could share with your daughter.

I also got a lot of books from well meaning relatives. I tried to read each one at first but it overwhelmed and depressed me. Sometimes, the more I read, the more fear that grew in my head. What I did with Pokemon Boy was I just left the kid-level books around. I didn't force them on him. I left them with our other books and one day, I walked in to find him reading them. Sometimes he'd talk about it with me. Sometimes he wouldn't. I would ask about it if I saw him reading it. But I always took my cues from him - whether he wanted to talk about it or not.

Some books he has read:
Hi, I'm Adam
Adam and The Magic Marble
There are way more but those are two I know he read all the way through on his own.

Also, Pokemon Boy is a hugely generous and loving kid. If your daughter would find it useful to write him letters or emails, let me know and we can exchange info. I think he'd really like that. I imagine he'd answer almost any question she might have. And he'd be honest. If he didn't know, he'd say so.

Let me know how I can help.

- Tourette's Mom

My Body Guards

I'm so stoked. Both of my boys are going to try some sports. They've each found one that interests them and they're both different. Lil'Bro will be doing kung fu. Pokemon Boy will try his hand at fencing. I am SO excited about this.

What's the big deal? Well, honestly, it's probably bigger for me than for them.

As a single working mom (well, hopefully I'll be working soon), I have not known where I would find the time to handle the ferrying of my boys to and from sports. I have watched my friends and neighbors taking their kids to soccer, basket ball, football, you name it. I never see these friends any more. And these are two-parent homes. They both work. Then they're up at the crack of dawn on weekends to get to a game. Or they're gone as soon as they get home from work to get to a game. The kids are thriving because of it. So go them! But it's a big sacrifice. The two kids are in different ages so often the family has to divide and conquer. So they don't get family time. They don't get friend/social time. And honestly, some of them seem pretty stressed out. No mom/dad time - alone or together. No date nights. No Chick Nites. Granted, this is just the view from my eyes. But it doesn't look easy even with two parents.

Then there's the money. I watch the fees for uniforms and what have you. It adds up.

So I've sat here thinking, well, my kids will have to find other things to excel in. Pokemon Boy has never shown an interest in sports. He seemed interested in tennis one summer but couldn't stay focused on the lessons. They didn't interest him enough. Lil'Bro shows a natural aptitude for soccer. But I certainly can't get him to the games.

Both boys are currently in an after school program at Lil'Bro's former day care center. This day care offers kung fu lessons to it's preschool kids. It's there on site and no ferrying involved. It's a little more than I can afford. But it's cheaper than if I went to a martial arts school. So when they began to offer it to the after school age kids, Lil'Bro said he wanted to do it. So I'm going to find the money. I've paid for this month and his first lesson is tomorrow.

I had hoped Pokemon Boy would take it, too. I know he tends to miss the meanness that is tossed his direction right now. But as he gets older, I just wish he'd be able to defend himself. Sounds crazy. But honestly, I think every kid should know how to fend off any attack. But Pokemon Boy didn't want to. When he's not engaged, he won't focus. And he'll just waste time and money.

A couple of days ago, we were watching a Disney show, iCarly. It's one of the boys' favorites. I find myself laughing at it more often than not and watch it with them. [I also have a big crush on Carly's older brother, Spencer.] In this particular episode, Spencer goes to a fencing club. When they showed the fencing (obviously stunt doubles), Pokemon Boy said, "Is that a real thing?" I explained how fencing is very real and even an Olympic sport. He was glued to it. He asked me all sorts of questions about do you get hurt, can it kill you, is it fun, etc. So we did some Googling online and found that our town has a fencing club that will start with kids as young as SIX.

Today, I paid for Lil'Bro's first month of kung fu and then signed Pokemon Boy up for a 6 week course in fencing! The fencing won't start until October. But still! I can't wait!

So basically, I'm training a very specialized couple of body guards. You mess with me and you can pick your punishment: fist or blade?

Puke Patrol

This morning is church morning. I got up to the alarm after playing snooze tag. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, fixed my hair, got dressed. I came downstairs to find my two adorable boys already up and playing their Nintendo DSs.

Lil'Bro said his tummy didn't feel good. "Up high or down low?" ask I. If it's down low, it usually just means he needs to sit on the potty for a while. He points up to his neck and chest. "You're probably just hungry." I took the risk and got him some milk. After a few sips, he said, "Oh, it feels better now."

I kept getting ready for church. Then he walks into the bathroom and stoically throws up. Ah good times.

My church friends are on notice and already bailing me out. My awesome friend MissSW is picking up all the church food. I called C.Beth and asked her to be the overseer of food service which she agreed to do even though she's lined up for nursery today. And I called my pastor's wife, the lovely Michelle, so she can cover me singing.

My parents and BigSis had planned a nice after church lunch for today. So it will be without the boys and me. BigSis will watch the boys in the afternoon so I can go teach my first Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class.

And my Lil'Bro - he is so brave. I have to tell you, I don't know any grownups that can puke so calmly, let alone a 5 yr old. He just walked in, lifted the toilet seat and "blyeah". Then he just stands there waiting for the next one. No crying, no whining. None of the noises I make that let the whole world know how awful this is and can't you see I'm SUFFERING?! Even when he was dry heaving. Just calmly heaves. It was astounding to watch. Or maybe I'm just twisted. But I really was amazed as I rubbed his very hot little heaving back.

Pokemon Boy is completely puke-a-phobic. So he has very discreetly taken his DS and gone up to play in his room. He's trying to make it look very nonchalant. But I know A) he hates listening to someone puking and B) he doesn't want to catch whatever it is.

MissSW just picked up all the church food. Lil'Bro is asking for milk and telling me he's very thirsty and hungry. Poor kid. We won't even try ice chips or water for 30 minutes. But he's a brave little guy. He'll make it. And in the mean time, I will refrain from licking doorknobs and stair railings.

A Picture of Sam Dad

Here is a picture I scanned the other day. I was looking at this picture and got to thinking of all my different parents. Thus yesterday's post. So here's a picture to go along with yesterday's post.

I'm assuming this is my dad some time in the 1940s.

Collect All 66! Trade With Your Friends!

One of the interesting things about being in a blended family and being adopted & knowing your birth families is that you often have to qualify which parent you are talking about. This is why:

Father Types:

• Sam Dad is Sam Estes, my adoptive father. He's the first father I ever knew. He is, in my head and heart, my "real" dad. He died in 1977 just before I turned 12. To my kids, he is a collection of photos and they refer to him as Grandpa Sam or Grandpa Estes.
  
• Dad is Hal Jones, my step dad. But I just call him "dad". He became my step-father back in 1978. I think I subjected him to many years of just "Hal" before I finally felt he earned the title of "dad". And earn it, he did! To my kids, he is Grandpa Jones.
  
• Dean, my birth-father. My birth-mom found him for me back in 1986. He went through a period of signing cards as "Uncle Daddy" but it always felt weird to me. "Dad" is a very special term to me. I don't just toss it about. And as much as I loved Dean, he was not "dad". But he was very special to me and I've missed him a lot since his death in 2002. To my kids, he was GranDean.
  
• Bruce, my birth-step-dad. Ha! Bruce is married to my birth-mom. We jokingly came up with his title a long time ago. But normally I just call him Bruce. But to my kids, he is Grandpa Bruce.
  

Mother Types:

• Mom is Rose Jones, my adoptive mom. She's been in my life as long as I have formed memories. She and I are very closely bonded due to all the early hospitalizations as an infant and our constant communication. To my kids, she's Grandma Jones.
• April, my birth-mom. Although I don't have a solid memory of it, she held me for an hour (I think) before she had to relinquish me. I grew up obsessed with finding my "real mom". She found me in 1985, 2 days after my 20th birthday. She is "April" to me but is much more special than just some random woman. We have a very special bond and I'm pretty much her darker-colored clone. To my kids, she's Grandma April (sometimes "Grape").
  

As a kid, I grew up with 5 grandparents as Sam had a step-dad. That step-dad was my main paternal "Grandpa". Sam's real dad was much more peripheral to us.

Once I gained a step-family, I gained 3 more grandparents. And the cool thing about them was, they treated me like their grand kid. I remark on that because I've seen step relatives in the world that can't bring themselves to make that kind of commitment to anyone outside their family.

When my birth-mom found me, both of her parents were alive. So I gained two more grandparents and from then on, I was one of their grand kids. Again, I find that pretty special. They were never uncomfortable with me. They never introduced me as "our recently found bastard grand daughter" or anything. Hahahaha. Oh sorry. Perhaps only I find that funny.

So Pokemon Boy and Lil'Bro have scads of grandparents, one living great grandparent (although when Pokemon Boy was born, he had 3 living great grandparents), innumerable aunts & uncles and a virtual cornucopia of cousins. They've also met more than a hand full of their 2nd cousins on both my and their dad's side of the family. It's nutty. And awesome. And it never ceases to amaze me: the amount of love and support that God has put into our lives.

I don't take it for granted. Well, not often, I hope. Knowing how blended families and adoption reunions can go, I see my huge extended family as the miracle it is.

Pretty cool. Thank you, God.

A Bit of a Scare

Last night, we were sitting in the living room, watching TV and eating orange sections. Suddenly, Pokemon Boy turned to me, eyes wide with panic, making the classic hand movements around his mouth and neck. He was choking.

In an attempt to not drip orange juice on the carpet, he had popped a whole section into his mouth, gave it a couple chomps and swallowed it. It had broken into two sections still connected by some of the surrounding skin-type stuff (I don't know the right word for it). So one section had gone down and one had gotten caught in the back of his throat.

He made some really big gagging motions and I thought he had cleared it. "Did you get it? Can you breathe?" He frantically shook his head "no!". GAH! He kept trying to gag and I could tell he was trying to cough it out. But he couldn't take air IN. After a few more tries, he was still not getting air. I started to stand up to get behind him for the Heimlich. And I tell you, I have never had to perform that on anyone. Let alone on a kid. And my OWN kid.

As I stood, Pokemon Boy started reaching into his mouth. I thought, "Duh! I'm supposed to try a finger sweep first!" He reached in a couple of times and actually pulled out the top-most piece. I think doing that pulled the lower piece up to where his gag reflex could push it out. He got it into his mouth and I said, "Spit it out! Don't worry about the mess. Just spit it out." He coughed it out and then broke down crying.

I was numb. I've taken CPR and Basic Lifesaving so many times. And when other people have needed help, I just go into that "Let's do this thing" mode. But I tell you, when this happened, I just kind of jumbled everything in my head. Denial being the strongest emotion I had to overcome. This can't possibly be happening - a real choking situation with my 9 yr old. It happens to babies and old people.

Pokemon Boy cried for a good while. He told me that he really had thought he might die and had never been that terrified in his life. The whole event probably lasted a minute - possibly two. Probably not even that long. But if you've ever not been able to breathe - for whatever reason - you know that 30 seconds feels like 3 hours! And when it's your baby standing there dealing with something like that, it feels longer, too.

I held him a lot. He cried off and on for a while. We prayed and thanked God for keeping Pokemon Boy safe. For keeping him calm enough to have the sense to reach in to his own mouth and clear the obstacle. We just sat there going, "Thank you God! Thank you God!!!!"

After a while, Pokemon Boy asked me, "What if I couldn't have pulled it out of my throat?" I said, "Well, I would have done the Heimlich." I had to show him what that was (not fully). "Well, what if THAT hadn't done it? Then what would you have done?" I told him I would have called 911. He was very stoic and realistic as he flatly declared, "They wouldn't have made it in time." I told him, "They would have saved you. I can tell you that!" I didn't get into details. It's not a place my mind easily goes.

After sitting there together for a while, he calmed down. We were quiet for a time - just holding him against me, silently thanking God. "Mom? Are you going to put this on Facebook?" The question really cracked me up. "Well, I guess that's up to you, buddy." Usually when something happens that makes him this upset, he doesn't want anyone to know. But he said, "You can if you want to." I said, "Well, I would probably blog about it because there's more to it than a status update." He nodded. "Well, you can put it wherever you want to." I smiled to myself. What a funny world where my kid knows that all of our family stories go onto a blog.

So that was our very short-lived moment of terror. Once again, God rockin' the rescue.

Thank you, God. Thank you for my kids.

A Nice Boring Post

Well, the first week of school is done for my boys. And the fact that I have nothing substantial to report is awesome. Because that means that Tourette's hasn't factored into anything this week. YAY!

Things that happened this week:

• I had a 2nd phone interview with an awesome local company I'm really hoping to work for. But I'm leaving it to God. I figure, if I get it? He knows it's the right place for me. If I don't get it? He knows something I don't and is protecting me from a not so great situation.
• I had a cool casual meeting with an IT recruiter that a friend referred me to. She asked me to add a few things to my resume. So hopefully she can help.
• I wrestled with anger issues each time I drove to the school and had to deal with other parents driving in ways that just defied my understanding. I really am at a loss when people block the bus driveway or park on both sides of a narrow street so it becomes a one-way situation or don't follow very strict instructions that were sent home on the first day. It brings out the bouncer in me. I want to get out of my car and start barking like a marine drill sergeant. GAH!
• We had two nights of severe thunderstorms. Only one amounted to any rain so we're still in a drought. But I enjoyed laying in my bed watching the lightening storm from a relative safe spot. One night, I had Pokemon Boy in there. Last night, it was Lil'Bro. Usually they sleep through anything. But each one had a night where they were woken by the storm. If they both wake at the same time, I may have to get a king sized bed! HA!
• Got to have lunch with one of my favorite moms of Lil'Bro's classmate. She's actually the mom of two boys - right around the same ages as my two. All four of our boys really like each other. It's awesome.
• Am wondering how to teach Lil'Bro some assertiveness. Where Pokemon Boy inherited my vocal projection talents, Lil'Bro is whisper quiet when he tries to talk in the classroom. Where PB is an extrovert, LB is shy. Where PB is tenacious, LB will only try once. LB has an awesome teacher. But he's intimidated in trying to make sure she knows his concerns. And his teeny quiet voice doesn't help. I'm sure it will work out. But I've had to send an email to her just so she'd understand one of the little things that was bothering him. Fortunately, she's a doll.
  

That's about it. Nice and uneventful. Tonight, I got to sit on the couch with my boys and a big bowl of popcorn. We watched the computer animated version (2008, I think?) of Horton Hears A Who. It had slapstick, pratfalls and just enough silly to keep them laughing out loud. I had more fun listening to them than watching the movie. Now we're watching PowerPuff Girls and then it's to bed.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

First Day of School

I've been having fun watching all of the first days of school being published on my friends' blogs or Facebook pages. I just put my pix out on Facebook. So now to share HERE.

Last night, it was hard to go to sleep. Pokemon Boy came down only three times. "Did you call me?" "I thought I heard you leaving." "I was just filling my water cup." When I went to bed, I grudgingly set my alarm for 6am. I've had the luxury of sleeping in all summer. And even while looking for work, I've had my alarm set for 7:30. Yah, my life is soooo hard, right? HA!

This morning, I was woken at 5:52am by Lil'Bro. He had just had a bad dream and wanted to climb in bed with me. Really? Eight minutes before the alarm goes off??? But it was sweet cuddling with him.

Both boys got up on time. Lil'Bro is like me and can't eat much in the early morning. Pokemon Boy had a good breakfast. We picked out clothes, brushed teeth, made sure water bottles were in the backpacks and were ready about 10 minutes early. I can tell you, that probably won't be a regular occurrence! I snapped a few pictures out front and then we were off to the school. Early. Because it was gonna be mayhem.
The Boys: Ready for school!
Lil'Bro: The big man starts kindergarten today.
Pokemon Boy: Ready for 4th grade and to guide his little brother.

I'm pretty sure every single parent of every single kid was there today. There were cars parked EVERYwhere. The residential streets surrounding the school had people parked on both sides. Which effectively turned all the streets into one lane roads. So you can imagine how fun it was to try to get OUT of there. I feel sorry for any parent that needed to be at work at a certain time today. Because I can promise you, they were late. Fortunately, we know a crossing guard that lives across from the school. She let us park in her driveway. So we were totally stoked.

We walked into the school and dropped off Lil'Bro first. Pokemon Boy is taking his responsibility of watching out for Lil'Bro very seriously. After today, I will just drop them off and he will walk Lil'Bro to his class. He's ready.

Lil'Bro's teacher, Ms.S is so sweet. We brought a bunch of extra supplies for her and she was thrilled. Lil'Bro's buddy was already there. He hung up his back pack, put up his lunch box and sat down to color. No nerves. No worries. No tears. I got my pictures, said goodbye and left with Pokemon Boy. I must be heartless or something. All the other kinder parents (even experienced ones like me) asked, "Did you cry?!" It never occurred to me to cry. Maybe if Lil'Bro had freaked out, I might have. Nah. I'm totally ok with the school, his teacher, I know the dismissal process. I'm good. I was joking with one parent that, with the first one, yah, I didn't want to leave him that first time. I just kept thinking about all the crazy "what if" scenarios. They'll lose him! They'll be mean to him! Some crazed gunman will take the whole school hostage. But with the second one, I drive up, slow down, pop the car door open and tell them to tuck & roll!!! HA! Ok, maybe not THAT bad. But it's funny, none the less.
Lil'Bro and Ms.S


For Pokemon Boy, this is 4th grade. Last year he tested for the talented & gifted program and was accepted. So this year, he is in a class with a talented & gifted certified teacher. Ms.H is awesome. She's very sweet but I sense that she will only put up with so much silliness. I think that will be the perfect combination for Pokemon Boy. Last night we prayed that God would give Pokemon Boy control over his body and his emotions. And that God would help Pokemon Boy see when someone needed a friend or kind word - to be that friend or give that kind word. So hopefully, that's still on his mind. He seemed happy to be in his class and meet all the kids.
Pokemon Boy & Ms.H


After I dropped them both off, I ran over to say hi to Pokemon Boy's 3rd grade teacher. I tried to find his old 1st grade teacher but the bell rang and I knew they would have some trouble clearing all the parents out of the building. So I skedaddled.

I'm so thankful to live in a peaceful country. To have such a great safe school for my kids. To have friends that staff that school so I know, in a pinch, my boys would have people to turn to.

God rockin' a wonderful community for us. Woo hoo!

And The Answer Is...

So apparently, the answer to my rhetorical tongue-in-cheek wise-ass question from Saturday's post [Is It Wrong...?] is, "It depends."

Having a blog is a very weird thing. Some blogs have a target audience. Some are just open to all comers. Some don't know what they're really shooting for. When I started mine in 2006, I was going to chronicle my battle with weight. I was derailed by Pokemon Boy's diagnosis with Tourette's. And that is when this became Tourette's Mom. I didn't know what I was going to write but it was going to be a place where people could come, read, and see one picture of what life with Tourette's can look like.

In 2007, my original purpose was derailed again. But it wasn't too strange because - thankfully - God has given Pokemon Boy control over his body. So there really wasn't all that much about dealing with Tourette's that I could say. Not on an almost-daily basis. So when The Ex shredded our little family, I used this as one of my lifelines. My regular blogger chick friends came to my rescue. Here and offline. It was pretty shocking to find how big my blogger family was. And how real. It still amazes me.

A few months ago, I linked my Facebook account to this blogger account. That's where the weird began. Well, in my head, anyway. I figured most of my acquaintances on Facebook wouldn't bother reading my blog posts. I was wrong. So once I knew they were reading, I started second guessing what I wrote here. I'm very much a stream of consciousness writer. And then once they started commenting...well, that was a whole other bag of noodles.

Many Facebookers use the online social networking site as a way to share pictures and update their friends and family with what's going on. Look, Bobby took his first step. Oh dear, Suzie has H1N1. Oh cool, I have a job interview. And that's how my account started. I had been a MySpace addict. I hadn't even known there were other social networking sites. My blogger chick pal Jane invited me to Facebook. And I was hooked. More and more of my friends, family, and acquaintances were joining Facebook. So it was fun. I now have regular interaction with both sides of my birth-family where it had been sporadic at best. My extended family (both sides) keep in regular touch which we had previously only done with a Yahoo group email. So now we got to have pictures and jokes. I'm reconnected with childhood friends, high school classmates, college classmates. It's a hoot and lots of fun.

But the majority of Facebookers are like me. They will connect with all sorts of people that were peripherally in their lives. If I can recall any interaction with a person, I usually accept a friend request. If I can't recall, I'll see if we have mutual friends and ask one of mine, "Who is John Smith and why would I know him?" Once a month, I go through my friend list. If I haven't had any contact with that person and/or can't recall any significant interaction with them in my lifetime, I usually disconnect. And most people never say, "Hey, why'd you defriend me?" If they do, I realize they were a lurker (they read but don't leave comments) and add them back in.

For those of the more private ilk, this seems like one of the inner circles of hell. Just ask my BigSis. She'd rather be skinned alive than join anything like Facebook, MySpace, Classmates, Plaxo, [insert any of the myriad of social sites here]. But I'm a social junkie. I love contact of any kind. If you're not outright abusive on my pages, I'm usually lovin' it.

For a while, I hesitated putting anything on my page about my feelings for God/Jesus, my church, etc. I didn't want to be misconstrued as one of those agenda-pushing "religious" types. Because if you know me, I am SO not that person. But after a while, I realized this just falls back into my old habit of putting God behind the curtain, in a closet, in my back pocket. Why should I have to hide any part of my life from anyone? If I'm happy how I am, why can't I just put that out there?

So I got bold. I started putting things like, "My church so totally rocks!" in my status. Or I'd say I was prepping the fruit for church. Or that worship rocked that Sunday. Or whatever. Don't get me wrong. My stupid slapstick humor was still out there. So my "God Rocks!" updates were interspersed with updates like "Men + beer + boob-themed restaurants = stoopid." The point is, I just tended to be my usual self. But my PUBLIC self.

And there is a difference. I will bare my soul here because, most regular readers here are invested somehow. They are a family member, a friend, interested in Tourette's, have a child with special needs, stumbled here and stayed, or were sent here from another blogger friend. My regulars are supportive, funny and kind. Those that come here - for whatever reason - if they stay, they have chosen to. On Facebook, it's kind of an opportunistic captive audience. Most of the people who read my blog posts over there are people that don't know my back story. The context is jumbled. Or, there IS no context.

So, that last post from Saturday - it was a mix of humor & snark. My friend that was the subject has a good sense of humor. His wife is a regular reader here. So I posted that fully knowing she'd read it and probably poke him with it. And here, that is exactly the response I got (see C.Beth's reply to that post).

But in Facebook land, people need to take a stand, make a point, be clever or whatever. So some people laughed along with me. But the other responses to the post made it clear that, no matter how benign I meant that post, in the jumbled context over there, it came across like I'm bitter or don't understand the different roles of moms and dads or was paying into the bumbling-dad stereotype. None of which are true.

So I have decided that I like the separation of Blog and Facebook. I have unlinked my online private me from my online public me. The few friends that found this and are interested can still come here. The lurkers and soap boxers can stay in the public forum.

So, is it wrong to be snarky about a socially charged issue - even when it's tongue in cheek? Well, no. But you have to take what follows.

Is It Wrong...?

Is it wrong that I'm secretly amused when I witness a dad forced to deal with his kids alone in a social setting? Granted he did swimmingly. But he's used to just going about what ever he's doing while his wife deals with the kids. So this just gave me a secret little thrill.

I know. I won't even get a hand basket.

Teachers: Two Thumbs Up

Well, we met both teachers today. My mom got to go with me to the kinder meet & greet. It was very cool. My heart goes out to the first time school parents. For most, it is just such a hard time. It was for me. I faked it well for Pokemon Boy's sake back in 2005. But man, it can be such a hugely paranoid time.

Lil'Bro's teacher is in for quite a ride. There are at least 6 kids in her class from his preschool. Which is odd since there are 10 kinder classes (all full - so like 20 per class!!!). But somehow, he and two of his best pals were placed in the same class. Three others we saw were in different classes. But his teacher seems very sweet. Very attentive. I think he'll have a great year.

Pokemon Boy is in the talented & gifted program. So his class is mostly those kids. His teacher seems like a doll, too. One kid from his summer daycare is in his class. They are both crazy for Pokemon. At one point, his teacher mentioned she needed to be schooled on Pokemon. Both boys offered to educate her. HA! Boy she's in for it now!

I chatted with Pokemon Boy's teacher - just letting her briefly know that his Tourette's isn't physical at the moment. That I'm her partner and will back up what she does and continue it at home. She seemed to know him from the prior year. He is a very outgoing and friendly kid. So almost every staff member we passed called him by name. So I imagine she already has some idea of the kind of kid he is.

We all left feeling very comfortable with the assigned teachers and excited for next week. Once again, God's rockin' the answer to prayer. So yay!!!

Oh, and while we were at kinder meet & greet, I got a phone message about a 2nd phone interview with a company I really want to work for. WOOT! I'll let you know how that goes.

New Teachers

Tomorrow, we have the meet & greet at the elementary school. I'm not worried about Lil'Bro's teacher. He's pretty flexible. I've seen him flourish with different teachers at his preschool. He'll do fine. I'm always curious to see Pokemon Boy's teacher. Even though his Tourette's is very mild, he can still have emotional outbursts that seem to come from nowhere. Teachers that aren't ready to handle this (from any child, actually) worry me.

Last year, he started with one teacher. When I met her, she was nice. But kind of...I dunno...distant. Or walled off. When I told her his Tourette's was mild and she'd probably never see huge physical tics, she almost fell over with relief. That was not a good sign. I never got the sense that she bonded with any of the kids. Pokemon Boy loved her but then, he's a sweet and loyal kid. If the teacher isn't outright mean, he'll love him/her. But I never saw the connection we'd been lucky enough to have with his first and second grade teachers. Mid-year, that 3rd grade teacher "retired" with less than a week's notice. His new teacher was the bomb! Same caliber as his awesome 1st & 2nd grade teachers. She CARED. You could see it in every way she interacted with each kid. When he had bad days, I could tell it just pained her. I could tell all she wanted to do was find a way to help him. She really helped him ride out the 2nd half of the year and flourish even though he had his anxiety and anger issues.

This year, his former 1st grade teacher transferred into our school - as a 4th grade teacher!!! We hoped and hoped and she actually requested him. But alas, 'tis not to be. I don't know who he has. I just know it's not her. Which is too bad because she had a real knack for dealing with him during his meltdowns.

So tomorrow I go to meet his teacher. I've been asking God to send him the perfect teacher. I've been asking that for both boys. I'm not worried. But I will be watching to see how she interacts with Pokemon Boy. And I have to have the conversation I hate having. Making sure she knows about his Tourette's, making sure she understands how it manifests, etc. I hate the conversation because I feel like it kind of dooms him to it. Or I worry that the teacher thinks I'll just excuse any bad behavior from him, chalking it up to his anxiety disorder. But I have to put it in his files. And I want to assure the new teacher that he's on the mild end of the spectrum. And that I'm her partner. I work with her to understand when a "bad day" might be related to Tourette's. And even if it is, sometimes he gets consequences at home. It just depends. So I want the teacher to understand that I'm not hands-off. I'm not expecting her to deal with it all while I wash my hands of it.

I think too much.

Anyway, I'll let you know what I think after I meet the teachers. So far, every teacher I've met at this school is really awesome. So I'm hopeful.

End Of Summer: Blah

So we're almost at the end of summer. Or, depending on the measuring stick, we're DONE with summer.

I took the summer off to hang with the boys. I doubt I'll ever get a 22 yr severance package again. So I pushed my luck and took the summer off - meaning, I didn't look for work. I also kept the boys home from summer camps or day care. So right there I saved myself a good $1300+ a month. I have never been able to spend a whole summer vacation with my kids. So this has been worth it. Pushing the envelope or not. It was worth it.

I started looking for work two weeks ago. So for me, summer ended two weeks ago. Sadness. But oh well. It's been awesome.

And in one week, my boys will head back to school. Pokemon Boy will start 4th grade. Lil'Bro will start kindergarten. Pretty cool. They'll be in the same school but probably won't run into each other. Kinder is downstairs and 4th is up. Their lunch times and recess will be pretty far apart, too. But the knowledge that big brother is there will no doubt help Lil'Bro.

So, as the school year approaches, a part of me wonders how Pokemon Boy will do with his anxieties during this school year. Since he's been back in day care these past two weeks, he's only had a couple of meltdowns. But each one reminds me that the anxiety is still there. And I've noticed a bit of an increase in his facial tics. Nothing horrid. Just the exaggerated blinking, a few head rolls, some shoulder rolls, some suddenly widened eyes. In the grand scheme of Tourette's, these are minor and I know how lucky we are.

I think the increased tics are just stress. He likes day care generally. But he's in the "school aged" group. So ages 5-11. And those older kids, man, they push the limits for me sometimes. Girls are emotionally brutal and boys are physically so. He generally finds nice kids to hang around. But inevitably, there's a clash. And I can't fight it for him.

Recently, a boy at school really taunted him. I was told by another teacher that this boy has some kind of disability. I don't recall what kind. But apparently, he is not always in control of his language or emotions. This was actually explained to Pokemon Boy. He told me he wasn't really mad at the boy since he knew the boy couldn't help it. But it still embarrassed him. We talked about it for a while. During the conversation, I pointed out how hard it is to be "different" at all. And maybe that boy gets a lot of flack from other kids. Or worse, maybe he's ignored. So Pokemon Boy said, "Yah. I have trouble with my anger sometimes. So I know what it's like." We talked about how maybe that boy just needs someone to keep being nice to him. Pokemon Boy went back to school resolved to be nice to him. To make sure he had someone who didn't ignore him or dismiss him as weird. I was pretty proud that he was able to make the connection - to empathize with a boy who might be treated differently because he can't control his emotions. There may be more conflict. But at least I know Pokemon Boy will try his best to give that kid the benefit of the doubt.

This Friday, we find out who the teachers are. Then it's back to school. I'm sure God will rock good teachers for both. And an awesome job for ME!

I HAVE A NEW NIECE!!!!

Last night, I received a text around 4:30am saying my "baby" sister was on her way to the hospital. Around 8am, her hubby called and said, "Listen!" I then heard the cries of a new born baby wondering what all that light and sound is doing disturbing her warm quiet comfort. She was only minutes old. It was SOOOOO awesome.

So welcome little baby MJ. I can't wait to meet you in September!!! I'm told she looks exactly like her older sister LilMissS. And she joins a blended family to be the youngest of five of my gorgeous nieces: MissA, MissK, LilMissK, LilMissS and now LilMissMJ!!!

I had to sit down with pen and paper to figure this out. I now have 23 nieces and nephews. That's from 7 of my 10 siblings and one in-law. And once my youngest brother & sister get old enough, I'll have more, I imagine (no rush, N & A!).

God certainly has rocked the awesome ginormous family for me!!!

YAY MJ!!!!

SERIOUSLY Awesome!!!

I am SOOOOOO stoked! Pokemon Boy has decided to get baptized. Last Sunday, pastor Kenny was talking about how our church will be having a baptism in September. So if anyone was interested, to talk to him. Pokemon Boy said he was interested. I think he said something like, "Can I do that?"

So tonight, after small group, I asked Pokemon Boy if he was still interested. He asked me, "Well...how long do they hold you under there?" I explained it's just a quick under and up. Having cleared that up, he said yes so I told him he should ask pastor Kenny when they could talk about it. Well, Kenny sat down and chatted with him right there! Pokemon Boy wasn't sure what baptism was all about so Kenny explained that it's an outward sign of what's in your heart. That you've accepted Jesus into your heart. So he showed him (using his arm) how the old you dies (dips the arm down showing how it goes down under water) and the new you rises up (raises his arm). Pokemon Boy goes, "...I have to die?" So I said, well, the old you dies - and the new you is you with Jesus. "So I still have the one life, right?" Yup. But now your life is eternal because you've got Jesus in your heart. "Cool! I want to do it right away!"

He's a little bummed he has to wait until the end of September. But he told me in the car that maybe the anticipation will be fun. Of course, Lil’Bro thinks he wants to get baptized, too. I'm not sure he gets it. But I'll let him talk to Kenny. If we both think he really really gets it, I have no problem with it. But we'll see.

Oh - and Pokemon Boy asked Kenny if he could wear goggles [he's just gotten to where he'll go underwater - but only with goggles]. Kenny said he didn't think Jesus would mind if he wore goggles. Gotta love it!

And I've told a few of you this but, in our church? We get baptized in a big horse trough!!! LOVE IT!

Just thought you all would be totally stoked to hear it. WOO HOO!!!

Various Sad Commentaries On My Love Life

These are things recently said by Lil'Bro. Cute but tragic, too.

When The Ex was here for a recent visit with them, we all went out to lunch. As all four of us sat down, Lil'Bro exclaimed for all to hear, "This is so AWESOME! It's like daddy never divorced you. Except he DID!"

After The Ex left to return to his home 1600 miles away: "I wish daddy never divorced you." To which I replied, "I'm sorry bud. But we're ok, right?" And he agreed.

Just now, Lil'Bro was looking through some cool polished stones I have. One is just a glass heart. He pulled it out:
Lil'Bro: Is this from dad?
Me: I suppose it was.
Lil'Bro (sniffing it): It doesn't smell like love. [pauses] Well...it does to YOU.

Nope. It doesn't.

Proud'n' On Pokemon Boy

I am so stinkin' proud of Pokemon Boy. Right now, he's on the phone with the little girl that was, for most of last school year, his "nemesis".

Pokemon Boy and MissM were best pals in 2nd grade. They ended up in the same class for 3rd grade and we were stoked. The two of them ended up being the two smartest kids in their 3rd grade class last year. Unfortunately, a bit of competition paired with entering the age of opposite sex having cooties...well, for Pokemon Boy, it turned bad. I think she always approached it as a healthy rivalry. But Pokemon Boy's anxiety issues and missing the social cues turned it into an all out raging rivalry for him. It got bad enough for some phone calls at times. He also had to write a letter of apology to her once that I made him hand deliver. [Fortunately for him, he had an awesome teacher. MrsP was extremely patient and really worked hard to help him last year.]

Anyway, toward the end of the year, he had really tried hard to control it and leave her alone. Over the summer, I've also reminded him that they will probably both be in the same class as they're both in the talented & gifted program. So he'd better deal with her being in his academic and social spheres.

About two weeks ago, out of the blue, he told me, "I think this year I'm going to try to make friends with [MissM]." I was shocked, but very psyched.

Last night, the school had a pre-back-to-school picnic. MissM's family lives near the school so I had hoped they'd be there. Pokemon Boy spent the first 30 minutes looking for her. I was so impressed with his resolve. So I called her mom's phone and left a message that we were there and Pokemon Boy had been looking for MissM. I also told her how he had decided to make friends with her.

So today, I got a call and it was MissM asking for Pokemon Boy! How stinkin' cute! I told her he'd call her when he got home. And of course got distracted and just now remembered. I just told him she had called so he called her back. They had a nice conversation (by the sound of it).

I'm just so proud of him that he made this decision. She really is such an awesome kid. The kind of kid you want your kid to be friends with. So this just makes me happy. Plus, I'm friends with her mom.

So stinkin' proud that my boy was able to overcome the whole "Boys Rule, Girls Drool" thing.

You Know What's Fun?

What's fun is buying something off of Craigslist. And then working out on the phone where to meet. Because I watch enough CSI shows to know how it will end if I go to their house.

SellerDude: "Yah, I live right at the intersection of [iffy] and [questionable]."
Me: "Hmm...I'm not really familiar with that area. Is there somewhere nearby we could meet that might be closer to the highway?" [Unspoken: ...and closer to a populated area where screaming would actually draw attention?]
SellerDude: "Um...do you know where [big natural food store] is?"
Me [sighing with relief]: "Oh yah! I know that place!" [Unspoken: It's packed with affluent people that are willing to go into debt in order to eat organic! So they will undoubtedly protect me if you try to kill/rob me there! Yes yes! Let's meet THERE!]

I drove up, met him outside and purchased my item. And no one was killed.

[Confession: He was actually very sweet and helpful. I just like being a drama queen.]

Yes, it's FUN to buy things from Craigslist.

Friday @ The ER

For my friends on Facebook, they already saw the whole thing. But for my bloggy friends, here's how I spent my Friday.

On Friday, we watched my friend McV's five year old son, Lil'McV. He used to be Lil'Bro's classmate in preschool. They're still buds so it's always fun to have him for the day.

On the previous day, we had taken my boys, Lil'McV and a friend of Pokemon Boy to a really cool local indoor play scape - slash - coffee bar. It's awesome. It has tables, couches, TVs, a 3 level play scape, coffee, snacks, you name it. We only stayed there 3 hrs on Thursday but could have stayed the day.
This is the play scape part - a shot I took on Thursday.
And there's the part mom likes!

So on Friday, Lil'Bro woke up asking if we could go back to the play scape. So I grabbed my boys, Lil'McV and Pokemon Boy's neighbor pal, MissO. MissO's mom was going to meet us there later, after her grocery shopping. So with four kids in tow, off we went. We got there, I found a table with a good view of the play scape and the kids were off playing.

Pretty soon, one of MissO's church friends, Mrs.P came over, sat with me and chatted for a while. At one point, Lil'Bro came out to me with a bumped head. I kissed it and sent him on his way. About 5 minutes later, I hear Pokemon Boy sounding pretty upset saying, "Come this way [Lil'Bro]! Mom [Lil'Bro] is hurt!" I figured he bumped his head again and needed another kiss.

Another mom closer to where they were turned to me and said flatly, "There's blood!" Oh boy was there blood! Here comes Pokemon Boy leading his injured little brother. Lil'Bro had his hand to his forehead and was crying bloody murder. Blood was just streaming down from his forehead, over his eye, down his nose, down his chin. I walked over and just scooped him up.

I was able to pull his hand aside to see a nice 1 inch long gash just in his hairline, above his left eye. So I knew it was a clean gash, not all the way to the bone, not life threatening. Scalps bleed like crazy. So it looked WAY more dramatic than it really was. Since I knew he'd be ok and was just hurt and scared, I just went into mommy coping mode.

[A side note: if I thought I could have done it without being lynched by the other moms as cold and heartless, I totally would have taken a picture of his blood soaked face. Because - to be honest - it was SO cool! Go ahead. Judge me.]

Napkins. I need napkins or paper towels to press against this. The first napkin dispenser I hit is empty. The ladies room is right there so in I go. It only has a blowing hand drier. Muttering under my breath, I head back out. I meet a mom who very calmly asks, "Do you need help?" Yes. Find me something to stop this bleeding. She goes into mommy assisting a mommy coping mode. Which rocks. Because you're completely detached.

She told someone to get paper towels. She told someone else to get a first aid kit. She asked if I needed a phone. She was on the ball.

We got Lil'Bro sitting on a table. He's still crying - understandably. I get paper towels pressed to his forehead. I send Lil'McV to get my phone. I assure Pokemon Boy that Lil'Bro will live and send him off to play (ie - out of the way). Assistant Mommy is using paper towels and baby wipes to clean off Lil'Bro. [And mind you, everything we needed kept magically appearing because that is what happens when you have an injury in a room full of 20 or so moms.] Mrs.P stays close by to see if she's needed. I get my phone and call MissO's mom and ask her to abort her grocery shopping and come immediately.

An employee asks if I want to call 911. No. That'll freak Lil'Bro too much. I can drive him. He's just scared. MissO's mom says she'll be there right away. I call McV and leave a message that I'm leaving Pokemon Boy and MissO with Mrs.P until MissO's mom can get there. I will take Lil'McV with me to the ER. Lil'Bro will want the friend and Lil'McV didn't know any of these people.

So Assistant Mommy has Lil'Bro all cleaned up and is putting butterfly bandages on the wound (which are really just sticking to his hair but hey, it was a good idea). Then she turns to me as I'm on my multiple phone calls and hands me a wipe. I hang up and say, "Oh no, I'm good." She and another lady say, "Um...not really." As I look down, I realize I have blood all over my chest, neck and left upper arm. I really would have liked to have left it so I could walk into the ER and say, "You should see the OTHER mom!" But Family Fight Club jokes probably don't go over well in the ER. So I cleaned up.

This is what it looked like after that awesome Assistant Mom did her cleanup job.

I grabbed Lil'Bro and Lil'McV and head to the car. Pokemon Boy and MissO were left with Mrs.P. I didn't even have time to get Assistant Mom's name. She totally ROCKED and I would love to make her dinner. Ah well.

And because God was orchestrating the whole rescue, it "just so happened" that Lil'Bro's favorite comfort toy, Buddy, was in the car. Lil'McV handed it to him and Lil'Bro calmed down. So the crying turned to the occasional sniffle.

We went to the ER near my house. They rock there. Love them. Have seen them too frequently between my dad's health and Lil'Bro's nursemaid's elbow back in January.

They check him immediately and allow both me and Lil'McV to accompany him to his ER triage room. Lil'Bro was feeling better. I could tell because I kept having to tell Lil'McV and Lil'Bro to settle down so A) they wouldn't get hurt in the ER and B) so Lil'Bro wouldn't start bleeding again.
Lil'McV and Lil'Bro in the ER triage room, waiting to be seen.

After some numbing medicine and cleaning up, the doctor applied some derma-bond (basically Crazy Glue) to the injury and we were good to go.

A bandage with numbing gel:
Nurse G cleaned it up:
All clean and ready for some glue:
Buddy on board for moral support:
Get'n' glued:
All glued and good to go:
The buds still goofy and ready to get outta there!

He hasn't had head pain. He hasn't had bruising. He's been pretty much 100% since it happened. Today, he even had his swimming lesson. His hair in the front is a bit whacked because the glue has made some of it stick up. But all in all, it just looks like he has a cut in his hair line. The only thing that would tell of how bad it was are our bloody clothes that have been soaking in a vat of OxyClean for about a day.

So Lil'Bro has a good story to tell. Pokemon Boy totally did the awesome big brother helping little brother thing. Our friends and some total strangers rallied to our side. God made sure everything was in the right place to rock the rescuing!!!

WOO HOO!!!

Good Question

I'm watching my friend's five year old today. He stood watching the desktop pictures on my iMac which change every 5 minutes. After watching about 6 different pictures of my boys go by, he asked, "Aren't there any pictures of ME on here?"

This Is What Life Is All About

Man, I just had the most awesome Sunday. So simple that it reminds me this is what Sundays are about. Keeping the sabbath is setting aside the day for God. Enjoy everything he has provided for me. Appreciate it. Honor him by soaking up his goodness. And today just fit the bill.

I woke up totally late because I stayed up totally late. Oh, and I had set the alarm for 7:30am (which would have put me completely on time) but then forgot to turn the alarm ON. DOH. So yah, I woke up pissy. And as my children dawdled, thinking they had plenty of time like usual, I got pissier. Oh yes, you say. We can see how this is totally keeping the sabbath.

I pack the car with the awesome food for church, cram the kids in the car and take off for church. I'm late so I don't do anything frivolous like, oh, say...feed my kids. This will come to play later.

I arrive at church in one of Those Moods. The kind that my friend C.Beth recognizes immediately by the set of my spine. The kind that I think I'm so good at hiding. As I unload the food, I'm completely in "Martha Mode" (if you don't know, read Luke 10:38-42). The afore mentioned awesome C.Beth comes to the rescue because - you see - I have hidden my Mood oh so well. She offers to set up the food service and I relent, thankfully. She mentions that she may have seen some sliver of a hint of my Mood. But her gentle understanding smile and complete lack of judgment completely disarms me. I love that woman.

Having that taken care of, I walk up onto the riser to take my place for worship practice. I'm putting in my ear monitors when Lil'Bro comes and asks if I brought any food. Yes, quite a bit, actually. But you can't touch it until 10:15. But he means food, as in, hey, you forgot to FEED us, woman. So I ask him to wait. Drooping face. Departs in full Bobby-Brady-slump mode. Then Pokemon Boy comes up 3 seconds later asking, "Um...did you take us to Burger King today?" [because usually when pressed for time, I whip through the BK drive thru for a healthy Croissan'wich® or the like]. "No, hon. We didn't have time. You'll have plenty of food here soon enough." More Bobby-Brady-slumping.

I take my place with the worship team, ready to sing. As I wait for last minute adjustments, I actually prayed this prayer, "God, please help me to stop having such a big hair across my ass." Now, questionable prayer language aside, God rocked the answer. He removed said hair from across said dark place. I had fun practicing for worship. I didn't keep my eyes on the food service setup because I knew it was being taken care of. I was able to totally relax and focus on the music. And the words.

The rest of church rocked, too. Our head pastors were away on vacation (the nerve of them!). So our youth group and youth leaders got up to talk about their recent trip to Doin' The Stuff. They showed slides and everyone that went (and was present) talked about how it affected them. One of our lay pastors then spoke about what it personally meant to him. It was a really cool, inspiring presentation. And Pokemon Boy told me he wants to go to Doin' The Stuff when he's old enough. Sweet!

After church, we hung out, socialized, cleaned up food service, washed bowls and platters. I love that part. Well, not the dish washing part, necessarily. But hanging with my church friends. I love watching the kids running around wreaking havoc together. I love seeing people stand around, talking, laughing. It rocks.

We headed home. We picked up the house a bit and made sandwiches for lunch. Then we hooked up with Lil'Bro's "best buddy" S.McV and his dad R.McV. We all went to the community pool and went swimming. We were met there by another friend of Lil'Bro and S.McV, A.A and his parents. So it was a big swimming play date with four rowdy boys. Tons of fun!

After two hours of swimming, we dried off and drove a few hundred feet to my parents' house. My BigSis was there with her awesome dog, Sid. My parents just returned the night before from a family funeral in New Mexico. Very sudden. Very tragic. Very sad. BigSis brought a bunch of pizzas and we all chowed down and heard all about the memorial and family gathering. We hung for a couple of hours and then headed home for some TV and then bed.

I mean, awesome church day (where God totally rocks the attitude adjustment up front), swimming with really awesome friends and then dinner with really awesome family? That pretty much sums up my life's blessings in a nut shell. Right there. Simple, no?

Thank you, God. Thanks for the awesome church, the awesome friends and the awesome family. And thanks for the extras like a gorgeous pool, a safe community and plethora of food.

God rocks, my friends. Totally rocks.

Tics and Such

It's been a while since I've posted on this blog about Pokemon Boy and his Tourette's. Which is awesome, actually. Because that means there is nothing really to report. As I've stated before, he thinks of himself as Tourette's-free. I like it that way. No fear or self-fulfilling prophecy to live into. When I talk about it, I try to do so when he can't hear me.

The Ex was just here for a visit with the boys. He was here for about 10 days. They spent almost every night with him in his hotel room so it was a much closer visit than previous ones. They spent most days with him, as well.

Over the last few days, I noticed a few little facial tics. Just the exaggerated blinking, bulging of the eyes quickly or rolling them up and to the side real quick. The Ex and I were talking about it but I can't peg if this started during his visit or not. I tend to not notice these tics unless they're really bad or just more frequent. So I'm not chalking it up to anything other than he's off his schedule or over tired or who knows what.

At times I think I should keep a journal like I did in the very beginning. But I feel like, when I do that, I'm putting too much energy in something that isn't really a problem. If his tics ever escalate, maybe I'll return to the journal. But for now, he's not worried about it so neither am I. We still pray about it when it rears its head. And God has kept his so incredibly mild. I'll keep my trust in God.

Oh, and as Lil'Bro has passed the 5 yr mark (when we first started seeing things from Pokemon Boy), we haven't seen anything Tourette's-like from him. I'm not really thinking we will. But you never know. Genetics are a strong player in this world. I won't worry. But I will keep an eye and ear out as he gets older.

Anyway, just thought I'd update you all since this is, after all, a blog called Tourette's Mom!

PokemonBoy

Lil'Bro

Heard Today At The Boys' Swim Lesson (#3):

The boys had their 3rd swim lesson today. The instructor asked us to get them goggles and nose plugs. So over the last week, they have discovered the joys of going underwater. It's all they do. Sometimes Lil'Bro would wiggle enough to turn himself in the water - a kind of pseudo-swimming.

At today's lesson, they were eager to show their teacher how much progress they had made. The teacher was totally psyched as was their dad (who is visiting) and I. PokemonBoy swam under water, actually moving forward and changing direction. Lil'Bro did, too, but he looked a bit more like he was drowning. But it was huge and awesome progress. We're thinking they'll be fully swimming by the time school starts. VERY cool!!!

Here are some silly snippets from today's lessons:

Lil'Bro: Hey [PokemonBoy], watch me talk under water! [goes under water and we just see bubbles!]

Lil'Bro [as the dog walks near the pool]: I smell dog...footprints.

PokemonBoy [after being under water near the fountain]: It sounds like people are clapping down there!

PokemonBoy [after finally swimming on his own a little]: Ok, I'm DONE with these lessons! Goodbye!

Lil'Bro: It's a bad idea - breathing under water!

PokemonBoy [after looking underwater at pool floor design]: The mermaid is ULTRA ugly!

SwimTeacher: Hey [PokemonBoy], if you blow bubbles under water, you won't get water in your nose.
PokemonBoy: Thanks for the tip. I won't use it.

Heard Today In The Car

As we headed off to the pool early this morning to beat the triple digit heat, this conversation cracked me up:


Lil'Bro: Mommy, what do you think that stop sign's name is?
Me: Hmm. I'm not sure. What do you think?
Lil'Bro: His name is Stoppy.
Me: Cool. [continues to drive]
Lil'Bro: And that fire hydrant's name is...
Pokemon Boy: Hydranty?
Lil'Bro: No. Fiery. And that light pole's name is...Lighty. And that fire hydrant is...Bob.


Alrighty then.