Ugh

I'm sick. This sucks.

Pizza, A Repeat Performance

School started yesterday for me. A panic inducing event. Could I really handle the class load plus everything else in my crazy life? Could I do it well? Are 13-14 hour days going to kill me?
School went well, after the fun game of finding a sitter for the kids at the very last minute. My friend Desiree came through for me (once again1) and monster sat for them. She even provided a pizza dinner. Like most kids, mine LOVE pizza.

At 2am Isaiah woke up and started crying, saying his stomach hurt. He spent half an hour on the toilet and throwing up off the side. Of course he was cold, so I wrapped him in a Star Wars beach towel. It was almost comical, the two of us up in the middle of the night. To take his mind off of his, ahem, predicament, I showed him some LOLcats on my fancy IPhone. We sat there giggling, in the bathroom, until about 2:30. Well, he giggled in between splashing warm pizza vomit all over, but you get my drift. THEN Hubs came home sick at 3am. *sigh*

Thank goodness that when Isaiah was done, he felt better. So good in fact, that he told me a joke, which I will now share as post-puke humor:
Why couldn't the 11 year old see the pirate movie?
It was rated "Arrrrr!"

Yes, lack of sleep has indeed made me delirious.

Destructive Dog = Unhappy Dog Owner

Let's takle a little inventory of all that Ilio has destroyed in the last few weeks.

4 pair of shoes
2 pair of flip flops
2 shirts
1 pair sleep pants
1 wooden slingshot
1 pair of glasses
1 softball
1 teddy bear
3 pair of underwear

I've had it! I'm instituting new dog rules here. He's being demoted in the house heirarchy (as suggested in a training book) and will no longer sleep in my room. He will be confined to the dog room when he is not within my sight. I will buy a muzzle and start walking him more around the neighborhood. I'm not going to let me life be ruled by the dog. I am the master of this domain, dammit!!!

Finally!

Something went right at Northeastern! Holy mother of ... I almost can't believe it. Today I went and GOT my book waiver without having to kill, maim, threaten or otherwise injure anyone. Then I went and got all my books with NO problems. Good thing, too, because that shit cost $308!
So I'm officially ready for the semester to start. Bring it on. The exciting thing? Those books are all totally books I'd read even if I wasn't going to school :)

Not Just Words

Yesterday while I was at work, my mother called and said that Daimean needs stitches. Now, my mom is sorta the Lady Who Cried Wolf so I tend to ignore a lot of what she says. She said he had a huge cut on his finger and that she could see the “meat” sticking out. He claimed he didn’t know how it happened, he just noticed it hurt. So I figured, Can’t be that bad then. Told her to put a band aid on it and I’d assess it when I get home.
Got home and saw the crazy tape job she did on his finger, told him to take that off so we could clean it and bandage it right. He takes it off and yowza – he’s got a hell of a cut on his finger. I ask him how it happened, he says emphatically, “I don’t know!” While there’s no “meat” sticking out, you can see the subcutaneous fat, which is a bit unnerving. Clean it, close it, Neosporin it, bandage it. Ask again how it happened. He sticks with his story that he doesn’t know.
I look my darling child in the eye and say, “You know you can tell me anything. So why aren’t you telling me the truth about this?”
He turns around and walks to his room. Climbs up on his bed and unwraps his Swiss army knife from a tangle of blankets where he’s hidden it. He said I could throw it away.
I explained that I’m not going to take it from him, but that it’s obviously not a toy. We got it for our camping trip. Not to play around flipping the blade open and closed. Which is how this happened.
THEN when I get the rest of the story it just breaks my heart. It had happened the night before, after bed time. He said he was flipping the blade, caught his finger, and panicked. Ran to the bathroom and ran water on it and used tissue to hold over it. Just thinking of him being too scared to get in trouble that he didn’t ask for help is awful. So we talked a LOT about it yesterday. Went over what could have happened. I made him promise that no matter WHAT happens, whether to him or anyone else, he must always come to me or his father for help. Part of our bedtime ritual is me asking him, “Who’s always on your side no matter what?” and his answer is You Are.
Not just words.
I’m careful to make sure that I don’t overreact when he tells me things, asks whack job questions, or does stupid things that can –and do- get people hurt. He’s a kid. It’s his job to find out how the world works, and it’s MY job to try to guide him through it with all of his digital appendages intact.

Today, on As the Woman Whines

Went to Colorado. Loved it. Rode a horse. Went rafting. Made smores. Came back. Dryer not working. Dog continues to eat shoes = bad. Working toilet on 1st floor = good. Financial aid nightmare at NEIU is still going strong. Kids started school. Gained 50 lbs (at least it feels like I have) Foundation giving a hero award tomorrow to family that found baby in trash in Brighton Park. School starts for me soon. Too soon. My family is having another legendary fight. I’m staying out of it. Don’t like this hair length. Must cut it again. Growing out takes too long. Want to go to the movies. Hubs’ days off don’t mesh with mine though. Want to see Halloween II. And The Time Traveler’s Wife. Even though I hate Eric Bana.
I’m being a whiny jerk today.
Want to go home and go to bed.
To spare everyone from listening to me whine.
Hell, to spare ME from listening to me whine!

Vacation Time!

This time tomorrow, I’ll be in Colorado. Breathing in the mountain air (and probably needing an oxygen tank) Just thinking about all I have to do between now and then is making me tired. I think I need a nap. Next update will be post CO. I’ll tell you if I’ve been arrested, thrown from a horse, lost in a national park or if I drop my camera while leaning too far over the side of the canyon.
Stay tuned!