Writer's "Cramp"

I have not been into writing lately. Can you tell? My brain's hurting...literally. I've been dealing with migraines and headaches for 2 days now. Can you say ouch? Annoying, too. But that's life I guess. Here's what's new at our house:


-My dishwasher broke. A stinkin' Maytag too. Paid a whopping bucketload for the thing, and 3 years later.....kaput. I hear there's no fixing it cheaply. Well, not that I want a cheap job, but an inexpensive fix would've been nice. We'll end up having to pay almost as much for the fix as a new one. Either way, this was NOT in my budget. I think I'll be doing it by hand for awhile. My friend Heather always does it by hand, since she doesn't even have one. Perhaps I'll walk a mile in her shoes. Although, I do have to say that I've been empathetic to her situation for years, and have even offered her a dishwasher that we didn't need anymore. But alas, she didn't have a spot for it, so she is still spending way more time in the kitchen than I. Until now, at least......sigh.


-Michaela has had a rough 2 weeks. It seemed as though she was slipping a couple of weeks ago, when we saw her start to drool. I thought that it was because she had a head cold, but Chris thought otherwise. Historically speaking, he was right. She had been on the Felbamate for 4 weeks, so it made sense. We usually only get 5-8 weeks of usefulness out of a new drug. But I was still holding on to see if she would perk up and quit drooling. Well, that happened before her school break. DURING break, life ended up being a disaster for meds. I could NOT seem to keep her on the same schedule as she's used to when she's at school. Normally, she's had her first dose by 6:30 the latest. But on vacation days, we weren't getting up until at least 7. And then I would forget to dose her in the midst of Asher crying, and Libby needing to use the bathroom, and general morning chaos. And with Mom and Dad here, my mind was quickly preoccupied with other things, and well......you get the picture. By the beginning of this week, she was using a bib full time, her arms were dystonic, and her speech was slurry. As of today, however, with 3 days of normalcy under her belt, it seems she's back on the upswing. I didn't put a bib on her this morning, but I put one in her backpack, just in case. Her arms looked better, and her speech was close to normal (for her).

Moral of the story: Don't mess up powerful neurological drugs......and get an alarm clock.


-Loo Loo the Froo Froo, aka Libby, is now a potty-training wonder. The child who would once say (oh not too long ago), "I like my by-per", is now sporting a whole array of toddler approved underpants. I thought the day would never come. But let me tell y'all this, ESPECIALLY if you need to potty-train (and I DO mean NEED)----naked butts are the way to go. I'm serious. It works. It seems as though 3-year-olds don't like warm fluid running down their legs. So we smart parents must take advantage of this little psychological glitch. And you too will soon hear your darling calling your name and mentioning the word "potty". Ahhh blisssss.



-We have acquired another furry creature. Poor Coop was miserable without his human pals on a constant basis, and so I decided that he needed a friend of his own. One that would always be there, even on rainy days (see, we were only "fair weather friends"). I saw an ad for an 8-month-old female yellow lab, and I inquired about her. Well, we got to bring her home a couple of Saturdays ago. Her name is "Cassie". She's somewhat quirky and shy, but I think she'll come around just fine in no time. She and Cooper have become fast friends. I was especially pleased to find them keeping warm together while taking a nap on the porch.

Unfortunately, the have also become partners in "crime". Arggghhh.


-On a more positive note, this spring is really turning my house into a pretty sight. We've never seen it when the trees are all blooming, and it's really getting picturesque out there. I have this black walnut tree (or so I've been told) that blooms bright fuscia---gorgeous! Two plum trees in the back bloomed the earliest, and they have white flowers. And of course, the daffodils have been out for a while. I spent some birthday money and put up some hanging petunias and a hosta plant. The kids and I planted strawberries, too. We're really excited about those. Personally, I can't wait for all the trees to get leafy. These 2 big pecan trees in my yard are going to shed a comfortable amount of shade---just right for small picnics this summer. I'm just very excited about it all. Trees were one of my biggest requirements when we were looking for property. And I've come to the conclusion that if you want nice ones, you gotta buy an old house. The type of place that's been inhabited for many years. That way, all the tree planting was done half-a-century ago, and all the trees are mature and spacious.

If only they planted closets like they planted trees.....


-Noah is almost done 2nd grade. He's finished most of his subjects, so now, we're mostly doing filler work to get in enough school days. For the most part, he's an excellent student, but every now and then he gets distracted. I've since adopted a strategy to get him back on track: Every time he decides to tell me something instead of doing his work, I simply say "Distracted!!", and he gets the hint and re-focuses. It's pretty funny on some days though. You'll hear "Distracted!" every 5 minutes or so....even Caleb gets into it!


-The kids have a new swingset/playset in the backyard. This was their Christmas gift from many people, including Chris' parents and our adopted Alabama family. Due to bad weather, and illness, it took awhile for it to get up and "moving". It's been a hit since day one. We also trucked over our old storage building for them to use as a playhouse. It's not ready yet, but Chris' grandparents sent us some money as a Christmas gift for the kids, so we're going to use that to fix it up. Right now though, it looks like the house that fell on the Wicked Witch of the East!


And that's all for now, I guess. You know, if I can write this much under duress, how much should I be able to write when I'm feeling fine? Interesting concept.....