I Did It! (Again!)

I blogged all 30 days of NaBloPoMo! But, not a huge stretch for me because I pretty blog everyday anyway.

I finally got a new cell phone today. I am pleased as punch with the service as I can actually make a call in my house (thank you AT&T) and I am happy with my phone. Shhh! Don't tell Stephen but it is an iPhone. Ok, he knows. I was going to get another PDA-type phone when he actually suggested that I look at the iPhone. I had not considered it at all up to that point because remember all those "I'm a PC. I'm a Mac" commercials? Especially the "Cancel or Allow" one because he was responsible for that part of the security and boy did they get beat up about it.

Anyway, he told me to look at the iPhone and I did and guess what? I fell in love with it! It is cool. I am not overly thrilled with the "keyboard" but I can live with it because of all the other great features.

Besides the phones, we picked up the last of the giving tree items which we'll drop off tomorrow at Stephen's work. We also checked out Co$tco Home for a new bed but nothing appealed to Stephen. We'll check out Sleep Country next.

Ok, off to add some apps to my phone and update my contacts' info. Fun!

BookList 2008

There are just a few weeks left in the year and I don't know how much more reading I will get done. I did not reach my goal of reading 24 books this year but I came close, especially considering that two of the books that I did read were over 900 pages and a third was just shy of 900.

Pez's 2008 Book List

1. A Salty Piece of Land, Jimmy Buffet, 460pp


2. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez,348pp


3. Mrs. Mike, Benedict Freedman, Nancy Freedman, 284pp


4. Three Cups of Tea : One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time, Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin, David Oliver Relin, 368pp


5. Letter to a Christian Nation, Sam Harris, 112pp


6. Letter from a Christian Citizen, A Response to Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris, Douglas Wilson, 112pp


7. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See, 288pp


8. The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch, 224pp


9. The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett, 973pp


10. Digital Fortress, Dan Brown, 384pp


11. Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen, 350pp


12. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry, 960pp


13. The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss, 896pp


14. Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer, 768pp


15. The Constant Princess, Philippa Gregory, 400pp


16. The Mermaid Chair, Sue Monk Kidd, 368pp


17. March: A Novel, Geraldine Brooks, 304pp


18. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Barbara Kingslover, 384pp (did not finish)


19. When We Were Romans: A Novel, Matthew Kneale, 240pp (did not finish)


20. How to be Good, Nick Hornby, 320pp

The two books that I did not finish had to be returned to the library because there were holds on them. I will probably get them again some other time to finish them.

I thoroughly enjoyed virtually every book that I read this year. Five of them were non-fiction (and all ready for Book Club).

Speaking of Book Club, December marks the start of our 5th year together. I think that is very exciting! We've had a couple new members and one left (well, a second left then came back) but it has pretty much been the same core members. There are a few things that drives me nuts about it (a couple of members miss every other month and another almost never reads the book) but we always have good discussions though lately they seem less and less about the book and more and more about life. I guess that is how it works and it reminds me a lot of the very first book we read Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons. I love that!

As I walked to Safeway today to pick up a couple of items I once again forgot to buy, I realized that Thanksgiving as a holiday does not mean that much to me. I wonder if it is because I am a "foreigner" to this country. We have Thanksgiving in Canada but it is just not the same. People do not make the big to-do there that they do here.

Since we do not have any Thanksgiving traditions from our childhood to reminise about with our kids, today is just about the food for us. And the shopping on Black Friday. I feel really shallow saying this but it is true!

And this year, the scary news about the economy makes me not even want to shop this year. I glanced at the ads but nothing more. I even sat down for a second look a few minutes ago and then tossed them aside.

That said, we did have a nice Thanksgiving. I felt like a heel shopping at Safeway (these people, to whom this holiday really means something, should be home with their families rather than ringing up my Pillsbury Grands and purple onion) but, I did enjoy the walk with the boys to and from the store. And dinner was really good. We had another family over whom we have known since we first moved to the States (they lived in Minnesota too before moving here about two years before we did).

Now that the day is (almost) over, we can start thinking about Christmas and I can get excited about that. I love decorating, going to church these weeks and planning Christmas dinner. I love the Christmas traditions that we've been able to pass along to my kids as well as starting new ones. For those things, I am very thankful.

AS SEEN ON TV!

My MIL called me today to ask me to order something for her. She had seen a commercial for the InStyler® Rotating Hot Iron Hair Straightener and she wants it but they do not ship to Canada. I had to laugh because dh's family is always the ones to buy all of the "AS SEEN ON TV" items.

When my in-laws were here in May, my MIL was determined to find some Mighty Putty (we found it at Linens 'n' Things before they went out of business).

My in-laws were the first people I know to have a George Foreman Grill. They were the first to try OxiClean. They had a Ronco The Inside the Shell Electric Egg Scrambler, and Didi Seven.

One of their favourite items was the Hot Diggity Dogger. DH was so taken with it that my in-laws gave us one for Christmas on year.

Their fascination with items seen on tv that it has been passed down to their children. Dh's younger brother has purchase The Ronco Showtime Rotisserie and the Magic Bullet.

From tv, dh purchased our original FoodSaver (a replacement was purchased at Co$tco). Before the FoodSaver, he bought a Pump-n-Seal. And don't think his purchases have been limited to food storage items. There was also the Ab Roller and Tony Little Personal Trainer Tapes.

Anyway, so I ordered the InStyler® Rotating Hot Iron Hair Straightener for my MIL. Apparently if you buy one you get one free so she has told me to keep one of them. I'll be happy to do that to add to our AS SEEN ON TV collection.

Purple Schmurple

My husband apparently missed the day in kindergarten when one learns how to mix primary colours to make secondary colours. He really has no idea (or at least never remembers) how to make purple, green or orange. And it is seems to be some sort of mental block that he cannot even logically think it out.

Anyway, tonight he was making Nanaimo Bars for Dex to take to school tomorrow and Dex wanted the vanilla filling coloured purple. Stephen could not figure out how to make purple using the red/blue/yellow pots of food color gel that we had so he called me (I was with Jax at his appointment). I asked him to ask the Cars because Cars and I both talked about it yesterday. I heard both Dex and Cars in the background pipe up "Red and Blue!".

As someone who fancies themself as an artist, I find it stunning that one would not know that or even be able to figure it out. It is a definite mental block for Stephen. And I am glad that my kids do not have the same problem.

I've decided to take part in All Adither's(Angie) What's Inside Your Handbag? challenge. Here is a photo of the contents of my purse (sans the crumpled kleenex too and the zippered pocket with the stash of feminine hygiene products).



So, what do we have here? It was surprising to me that there was so little in there. You can totally tell it is a Mom's purse. I have a Star Wars pen and a Halloween pencil as well as three other pens and an orange Sharpie. One SpongeBob glove. No idea where the other one is. I also had a little zippered pouch full of Canadian coins from our trip to Vancouver. I've taken that out now.

I also have 4 Epi Pens (two in each allergy pouch, which are also crammed with Benadryl tablets), an Epi Pen trainer, two peanut-free chewy bars (I ate the third). Cell phone with my bluetooth ear thingie is usually in my car but I took Stephen's car last night so I put it in my purse last night.

I have a card for a friend that I have to address and mail, a piece of paper with my physical therapy appointment schedule on it and two release forms from last week when Stephen and I got flu shots at his work. And of course my key chain with all of my loyalty cards on it (except for Safeway's - they still have the big credit-card sized ones). I need to take off the lime-green thumb drive that I attached when I made prints at Bartell's last week.

And there you have it. Usually there are tons'o'receipts and coupons jammed in my purse but I guess I cleaned out the purse recently and when I shopped last, I did not take the purse, just my wallet (which weighs about a pound!).

Saw "Twilight" Tonight

...and now I have a new list.

1. Edward Cullen (or Robert Pattinson)

That's it.

The Parent/Teacher conferences yesterday went well. Cars' was first. I mentioned to his teacher that I had had concerns about sending Cars to school since he just turned 5 in August and was probably the youngest kid in the class. She said she was really surprised that he was that young (she said she had not memorized everyone's birthdays) and she said that he definitely acted "older". And he is right where he needs to be with everything else so I am glad that I sent him "on time".

Dex's conference was next. You know how I mentioned that his teacher said he was a good citizen? Well, she raved about Dex! I could tell that she really likes him which is nice and she loves his writing "voice". It was nice to hear. I really did not think we'd have a lot to talk about but we even ran over time which made us late for Jax's conference...oops!

Jax was waiting for us with his teacher when we got there (Spy was watching my kids while we went to the other conferences and she sent Jax to his on time). He discussed what he was most proud of and talked about his results on certain things. He did a great job with his presentation to us. He really is doing well this year and I think he has gotten over and forgiven the teacher for the peanut-butter-sandwich-making situation. He showed Stephen a few things around the classroom and I thanked her again for getting him an individual desk because I know that has alleviated some of his anxiety in class.

Afterwards, it was my turn to watch all of the kids while Spy had her conferences. We were lucky that it was not raining so the kids got to play outside (even though it was a little chilly). Spy's son wrote an essay that his teacher showed Spy about his best friend, Dex. It was so sweet to read. The embarrassing thing is of course that the teachers all know about Cosmo Fridays now. Makes us look like a couple of lushes. And really we aren't. At least, only on Fridays anyway. :)

I had a Cookie Lee jewelry party tonight. Five bottles of wine later, I earned some free jewelry! Thanks to my wonderful friends! :)

And this post will be quick because I need to get it done by Midnight to keep me NaBloPoMo-ing.

All Reports Good

The kids got their report cards today and I was delighted with them. Cars really wasn't graded on anything other than music and computer class and his "life skills". I guess we'll find out about his "reading" levels tomorrow at Parent/Teacher conferences.

Dex's teacher called him a "conscientious, well-mannered child" who was "one of our better citizens". I wonder if those are stock lines that she puts in everyone's report cards! I'll pretend that they aren't. Now that I think about it, I don't think they were in Jax's 3rd grade report card (same teacher). Ah yes, Dex rocks. ;)

Jax's report card was good too but the teacher commented that he "... is a strong, independent worker but also frequently asks for help when needed to be sure he is on the right track.". Ok, so what is it? Is he independent or needy? She also said he likes to relate all things to cheese. He thinks he is so funny when he turns everything to a cheese comment. Oh, the humour of a 10 year old boy.

Since receiving the flu shot on Monday, I have been exhausted! I feel like I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat and in fact, I did fall asleep in the waiting room at Jax's appointment last night. While he was doing his biofeedback relaxation thing in the office, I sat in the waiting room. It was really unusual in that there were no other parents in there last night. I closed my eyes for just a minute and awoke 15 minutes later to the sound of the door opening. I even thought briefly about lying down on the bed at PT today while I was hooked up to the machine (don't know what it is called but stimulates the muscles with electrical pads. Little ones are called TENS machines. Are the big ones too?) but then thought I'd be very embarrassed if I fell asleep so I just sat in the chair.

So, instead of going to bed early tonight since I am so pooped, I watched TV (I love "The New Adventures of Old Christine"), did some laundry and read all the scary news about the economy. Now I am too frightened to sleep.

Oh, and I did make a grocery list for tomorrow. It is Fred Meyer's free turkey week (with $150 purchase). We are so low on groceries that I will have no problem spending that amount.

I also need to make a trip to Co$tco before next week so I don't end up there with the rest of the world as they stock up for Thanksgiving. BTDT and it will never happen again!

I am excited because our book club (well, most of us) is scheduled to go see Twilight on Sunday night! We read the book for our July 2007 meeting (and I think that we've all read at least the next two and about half have read the final book in the series).

I have a huge crush on Robert Pattinson. I don't even want to think about the fact that he is 21 years younger than I am! I have watched HP4 umpteen times to see him as Cedric Diggory. ~swoon~ Stephen says I am sick since he was just a teenager when that movie was filmed. He's 22 now though. :)

Just Another Manic Monday

Three nights in a row of late nights for the kids and then Monday morning rolls around and none of them can get out of bed. Ugh! I decided to forgo making lunches and spent the time getting them up and out of bed in more relaxing time frame.

I got my flu shot today. Stephen's work offers free flu shots each year. We had originally planned to go to lunch but then I forgot that I had a PT appointment scheduled so we just had coffee/tea together. We don't do enough of that (sit down together, not get flu shots).

I have one more PT appointment scheduled. The therapist thinks I have improved my flexibility enough and the knot in my neck/shoulder is gone that I don't need to go back after Wednesday. The change in the tightness, stiffness and pain in my neck/shoulder is incredible! As well, I have been working on exercises to improve my posture so the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome is improving and my hands and when I raise my arms, they do not go numb as quickly as they did in the past.

I helped out the son of an online friend today who needed to interview someone from another country. He then had to take my answers and translate them into Spanish. I wonder how "universal health care" translates?

Jax and Dex are taking a cartooning course after school so Cars was so happy to take the bus home himself. It made him feel like a big kid. I picked him up in the car because I had to run a couple of errands before we went back to the school to pick up the other two when their class ended and Cars decided that since he was a big kid, he would sit in the big-boy booster seat in the back row of the van. He was soooo proud of himself. It was so cute! Well, cute until it was time to get Jax and Dex and Cars bossed the other two around and told me that they were not allowed to sit in the back with him. He was unceremoniously dethroned and had to sit back in his regular seat. I cannot believe how bossy he has become!

When I got back from getting the boys, Stephen was already home from work so he could fix the garage door. What seems like it should have been an easy fix turned into an hour of us arguing (we do not work well together) and I almost got my finger ripped off in a pulley. Anyway, it seems to be working although I apparently need to buy another spring because you are supposed to replace both at the same time for even tension.

We've spent the better part of this evening shopping online trying to find the Lego that the kids want for Christmas. They are nowhere to be found except on eBay at 2x the original price. I wish they'd want something that no one else wants. Cars did tell me that he wanted a Chia Pet (Chia Alex actually). I wonder if that will do rather than a Batman Lego?

We are home from our weekend in Vancouver. We all had a blast at the game! The kids loved it but I think were more in awe of the crowds than of the game. I am sure they heard the word "SUCKS" more in one night than they did in their entire lifetimes! Anyway, the Leafs lost (they did indeed suck!). At one point they were behind 4-0 and Dex cried a bit because he wanted them to win so badly. The Leafs changed goalies and then scored two goals themselves but really they were totally outplayed throughout the game. It was exciting to see so many Leafs fans there.

Here is a photo of me and the boys before we left for the game:


And one of Stephen and the boys at the game:

Yes, that is the BACK WALL behind them. We were in the second-last row of the arena! I cannot complain because at least we got tickets! It was the first time in three years that the Leafs had been to Vancouver so definitely a game that everyone wanted to see.

Our trip home was good. We stopped at Costco in Richmond to have poutine for lunch. Then our regular grocery store stop. The border was a relative breeze (only a 30 minute wait). We were home by dinner time and in time to work on Jax's project that is due tomorrow (he informed us Friday just before we left!!!). He is usually very on top of things so I was very surprised at how much work he had left to do of it tonight. It was assembling a scrapbook so there was not really anything we could do while we were away (especially with such late notice). I'll have to monitor his homework a little closer - at least his projects.

I am making a quick entry to fulfill the NaBloPoMo requirements in the event that I do not get a chance to update later (I have paid for just 24 hrs of Internet service in our hotel room).

Anyway, we are going to walk around downtown this morning (we haven't done that since we were here for Jean-Paul and Marilyn's wedding before Cars was born!). The we'll take the Skytrain to GM Place. We are soooo excited about the game. No idea where are seats are yet. We'll pick them up at the Will Call office before the game.

When I checked in last night the front desk clerk asked me why were in town and I said "To see the Leafs game!". He looked at me and laughed and said "You mean the Canucks game".

Go Leafs!

And we are off to Vancouver for the weekend to see the hockey game. I'd say look for us on TV but I think we'll be in the nosebleed section. Go Leafs!

Off to book club tonight. I am taking these again. So good! Yum!

We'll be discussing March by Geraldine Brooks. I am still not quite finished and probably should be reading rather than blahgging... Anyway, I have enjoyed the book and I look forward to our discussion tonight.

We'll also have a Secret Santa drawing tonight. One person says she hates Secret Santas and wishes not to participate. How awkward that will be at our December meeting. She has also said she doesn't wish to go where we had planned to go (we go out for dinner in August and December rather than have a regular meeting). Everyone else was agreeable to the Secret Santa and our meeting place. When no one replied directly to her note to she sent it out again in case we did not receive the first one. No one replied again. I am not sure what she was really expecting...

Ok, off to stick the jalapeno thingies in the oven and to finish the last 20 pages of the book...

Our house is falling apart! Well, a few things around here are anyway.

I mentioned that the motor on the hot tub is just about shot so we are having it replaced tomorrow.

One of the cupboard doors in the kitchen broke. It broke in the same manner as did one of the bathroom cabinets a few months ago when Cars leaned on it. He said he did not touch this one but I am skeptical. Anyway, Stephen will try to fill the hole then reattach the hinge.

One of the springs one of our garage doors broke. I went to Home Depot to buy a new one and apparently garage door springs are colour-coded so you know which one to buy. There is a little spray paint dot painted on the end of each spring. You either have to know how heavy your door is or what colour spring you need. Fortunately, I brought in the broken one and I needed a "yellow" one. Until we get it fixed I am parking out in the rain. (one side of the garage is filled with stuff and I park in the other. Stephen parks his new car outside. heh)

I hope nothing else breaks again soon!

Stephen has now decided that he can no longer tolerate our new bed. So, next week we are off to buy another bed and Jax will inherit our Heavenly Bed. Jax is very excited because he thinks it is nice and plush (it is!) and he often complains about how hard his bed is (it is an extra firm mattress). If his bed were not a full-sized one, I'd just switch out the mattresses.

Anyway, so we'll be going mattress shopping next week. Co$tco seems to have a deal going on starting next week but I cannot tell if the mattress is a pillow-top one or not. I'll watch for sales this weekend too. Macys and Sears always have mattresses on sale. There is also a "mattress shop" in the plaza by our house. I think that is so weird. It is in the middle of nowhere. Well, meaning our city which is small with very limited retail space and up pops a mattress shop (not even a national chain one like Sleep Country). Oh, and a carpet store opened in the plaza too. The local plaza is not a place I would choose to shop for bigger ticket items.

Lest We Forget

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

__________________________________________

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Canadians are asked to pause and remember the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom and democracy during the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Afghanistan conflict and during peacekeeping missions.

Rest of Article

Windows OneCare saved the day! We already had it on the desktop computer and Stephen realized that he could use the same license on all of our network computers (my laptop). So we backed up my computer (I am ashamed to admit that I had not backed up my laptop in eons!), we installed OneCare and voila! It detected the infection and cleaned up my laptop!

I was so happy that I even told Stephen that I was willing to upgrade to Vista. He was not impressed. I think I have mentioned before that he said he gave four years of life to it and I *refused* to install it. Two years later, I am now willing to give it a whirl. He said I am on my own so I will stay with XP. :)

At least I am considering a cellphone that runs Windows Mobile. Shouldn't that count too?!

I spent two and a half hours today raking up wet leaves. My lawn sweeper doesn't work as well as I had hoped with wet leaves. So I had to resort to the rake and I have blisters on my hands! Ouch! I filled up our 96 gallon yard waste bin and two of those huge leaf bags.

Our garden still needs to be prepped for the winter. I need to cut back the bushes, perennials and some stupid wild rose bush that we have. We also have a problem with moles. I should probably call someone to fix the problem. Our neighbours bought a couple of those ground rodent repeller stakes. He is not quite sure if they are working or not. I think they are and I think the moles have burrowed across to our property!

I did not get a new cell phone...yet. My contract is not up until the 25th of this month and I am considering switching cell phone providers (we have terrible coverage at our house with T-Mobile). I can upgrade my phone at T-Mobile but I will look around to see who has the best deal and the best phone for me. There are so many choices out there. Perhaps too many for me!

I have some spyware on my computer that I cannot get rid of. I am pissed off about it. It is a fake thing that says my computer is infected with spyware and then tries to get me pay $50 for virus tools. It is more a pain than something that will hurt my computer but I cannot get rid of it. I will try again tomorrow. I have to access any place that has my credit card info on the other computer. It is soooo frustrating!

Today I started to move a pile of papers on the dining room table and felt a sharp pain on my finger. I lifted the pile and there was a BEE underneath the pile and it had stung me! Hello?! It is NOVEMBER! Why was there a bee in my house and what was it doing UNDER the papers? I smooshed it with the fly swatter. Weird!

The motor to our hot tub seems to by dying. This thing has been the biggest money-$ucking thing ever! Stephen loves it though so we'll just pump more $$ into it.

We had Cosmo Friday for the first time in about 2 months. It was fun although Ash told us that she had a breast biopsy yesterday and will find out the results on Wednesday. Scary!

I am planning to get a new cell phone tomorrow. Off to do some research!

Need to make a quick post for NaBloPoMo because our power has flickered a few times already tonight. Tons'o'rain and potentially a wind storm on the horizon for us. Winter is here!

A friend at my mom's club today suggested that Dex submit his photo in the PTA "Reflections" contest. I took a copy of the photo in today for a craft (mod podge the photo to a 6" square tile). I spoke to Dex about it when he got home today and he said he would like to do it. The theme this year is "WOW" and I think that photo is a definitely a WOW.

On Tuesday, I bought two new travel mugs from Co$tco. They are aluminum with plastic spill-proof caps. I was excited because my old one tasted like coffee which I hate (Stephen used it a few times for coffee when I wasn't looking). Anyway, these are aluminum so the coffee flavour should not leech into them.

However, the most exciting thing about the purchase I did not notice until I got home.


Do you see it?

The perforated line across the top of the packaging for easy opening.


Genius! However, it did not tear open as easily as I had hoped but it was a lot better than wrestling with the scissors that don't really cut that plastic open very well anyway.


That plastic packaging is so maddening and I always manage to cut myself! Never mind that I just imagine how much of that plastic (made from oil, mostly!) ends up in the landfills.

And funny enough, later that day I opened the newspaper and read an article about amazon.com working with manufacturers to reduce the packaging and "wrap rage" that ensues from plastic clam shells and the billion little twist ties.

In the meantime, I think the little things like perforated lines in the plastic will help. As will investing in little tools like The Plastic Surgeon.

Jax's 504 Review was yesterday. We now have it written in that he gets an "individual" desk and not one of the the double shared desks. Also, no teacher will use peanuts or peanut products in a lesson plan. If they have plans to they will contact us to work out a suitable replacement. The portable issue will have to wait because they do not know for sure if the 6th graders will be in portables next year. And no movement on the "buddy lunch" and peanut butter thing. We can't win them all, I guess.

Jax told his counselor tonight what happened last week. He mentioned that he was not sure that he liked his teacher anymore because of what happened and his counselor suggested that he might like to give her another chance. I really appreciated that he said that. Jax needs to hear things like that from people other than his parents before he will consider them.

And on another note...

YES WE CAN!

Tonight was a "Mom's Night Out" for my mom's club. A group of about 10 or 11 of us went to Eastside Baby Corner which is a local agency that collects and redistributes clothing and baby items to families in need. The service children up to age 12. The set up they have is so very cool. You get a bag with an age and size on it and then fill it with a certain amount of clothes for these kids. There were a ton of people volunteering there and it was amazing how quickly the work (and the clothes go). Our group was there for about an hour and a half. I filled up four bags of clothes for kids and then started sorting the new clothing donations that came in.

In the past, I have donated clothes to Goodwill but knowing that this place gives them away for immediate use is somehow compelling to me. I have told Stephen that from now on all of our children's clothing items will go there rather than to Goodwill. I am actually a little verklempt thinking about what a wonderful job this place is doing for our area.

Dex's appointment with the neurologist went well the other day. Well, other than the fact that I had to drag him crying out of his class Halloween party since it had just started. And he cried all the way to Seattle. I was so worried about being late that I was flustered and could not console him. I pulled into the hospital and headed down a ramp to the parking lot and wondered why they put a "DO NOT ENTER" sign at the top of the ramp only to find out that I was driving down the up ramp and head-on into cars exiting the parking garage. Yikes! At least I was not the only goof who did that as there was a car directly behind me on the ramp.

Where the ramp met the garage exit, there was enough room for me to do a 27-point turn and headed back up (the other guy just drove up backwards) and drove around the block around and came back down the correct ramp. I circled around and around the garage until we found parking then Dex, Jax and I rushed to the appointment only to find out that he was running *45* minutes behind! Oh, if I had only known Dex could have stayed for his party!

So, we went for a walk around the hospital and bought tea/hot chocolate/Pepsi and hung out. After 45 minutes, we headed back up for the appointment and it was another 30 minutes before we were called into to see the doctor.

We discussed medication so now we know what we are dealing with if we went that route. We've decided that we'll only medicate him of the tics continue to bother Dex (he doesn't really even notice them anymore) or if he is being teased (he says only a couple of people have asked him about them). The neurologist also taught Dex a way to try to "trick" his brain. When he feels the tic coming, he grabs a spine of a koosh ball (I need to buy one) and pull on it 10 times until the urge to do the tic goes away. The next week he does it 5 times, then 2 times then 1 time and by then hopefully the tic has gone away. Dex sat there glowering at the doctor the whole time (this guy made him miss his Halloween party AND interrupted his Nintendo DS game that he had been happily playing in the waiting room).

And of course Dex did not do his tic once during that whole appointment. He did it immediately before and after but not during the appointment. :\

After we left, Dex said he wanted to try that "trick" and he explained how he gets a feeling like a bubble in his brain that gets bigger and bigger then he has to do his tic to make it go away. Now why did he not explain this to the doctor instead of pouting and making dagger eyes at him?!

Dex said he'd like to try to trick his brain so I've ordered some small koosh balls (they don't really sell them anywhere anymore - at least I could not find them). While we wait for them to come, Dex will try squeezing a little stress ball.

And let's hope the tics go away soon so we don't need the meds after all.

NaBloPoMo

I am participating in NaBloPoMo again this year. I hope I can post everyday. Ok, of course I can because I do mostly anyway. :)

It was one year ago this weekend that we moved into our new house. I cannot believe it has been a whole year already. It was a great move for us and even though the housing market is shaky and we've lost some equity, it was still the right decision. Sometimes I wonder how we lived all crammed in that other house.

So happy house anniversary to us!