Hubby Back Surgery

My husband is have major back surgery on Dec 10th.  I am glad he is having it because he is in some much pain.  I am just scared for him and worried what can happen during or after the surgery.  I am also worried how I will handle the house, kids, work and still be with my husband.

Teaching

Everybody thinks teaching is so easy and but hate to tell you it is not. I have been teaching 5 years in this school district and every year we have new hoops to jump through. We have parents who except us to make a phone call when there kid gets a little bit behind.  I think that parents don't always understand we have a life outside of school.  Just my little pet peeve of the day.

What a week!!

My week started last Sat/Sun when Jayson decided to not use his brain and get in trouble with the cops.  However, he did what he was suppose to and the cops decided to use his statement against another kid and he didn't get arrested.  We also have an 18 yr old living with us for indefinite period of time.  We spent Sat night, all day Sunday, and Monday waiting to see what would happen.  Thank goodness as I said earlier they are going to use him as a witness. On Tuesday, I get a call from Jeff and his back went out. I had to go get him from work and take him to the er to get a shot.  While I was with him, the teacher that is suppose to be in study hall with me never showed up and my study hall was left alone for 30 minutes.  On Thursday, I am trying to get stuff printed for my meetings on Friday and couldn't get a printer to work at school if my life depended on it.  So by the time Thursday night got here, my migraine had started and Friday morning it was horrible. I get into my meeting Friday afternoon and thought I had everything and of course I didn't.  I was never so glad for a week to be over but nope things got bad on Sat.  Jeff was walking from the living room to the kitchen when all of sudden he went to his knees.  He had such pain, he couldn't move and we had to get his cane, which we had to buy after Tuesday.  Which kind of stunk because we didn't get to go to a cookout because of the pain.  Hopefully this week starts off better today.

Stepmom role

This is going to be short and sweet. Whoever says that I am not my stepkids mom should take another look and see who is doing all the running, homework, and gets the calls from school or them when they want something. I may not be by blood but in everything else, hell yes. It is not their dad. I make one stupid error and all hell breaks loose.

Alyssa is coming to live with us for this school year

I am very excited that is Alyssa is coming to live with us for the school year.  I hope that she enjoys it and makes lots of friends.  This was a very hard decision for her.  She asked a lot of questions and we tried to be neutral about answering and give her honest answers.  It was tough on her because she is very sensitive about other people's feeling, especially her mother.  Her mom made a big deal about this and upset Alyssa a little but in the end she supported Alyssa.  Now this decision to come here could only be for a year, for junior high or for high school who knows but a mom supports her children no matter.  Her mom made a decision based on what Alyssa wanted and not on herself.  Now she is getting flack from people, I don't know who, but I would like to tell these people to back off. 

Jeff Back #2

So Jeff went to the doctor today.  He will have to have surgery again. They will have to redo everything they did to fix it the first time plus a little more work.  The surgery is $220,000 or more.  I know that this is a lot of money but he is in so much pain and if he doesn't have it he will end up in a wheel chair.  The surgery will last 6-12 hrs and be in icu for the first 2 days at least and up to a week in the hospital.  Then be at home for a month and be on a weight restriction for a year. I am not sure how I am going to manage all of this and still work because if I miss to much work they may dock my pay.  Oh well, we will get this figured out.  He has to have another x-ray and some kind of bone scan thing, then go back to doctor to set up surgery.  They are trying for the end of September or first of October.

Wyoming House

We moved to the house we are in on Oct. 31, 2009.  So we have been making 2 house payments, 2 Cilco payment, 2 water payments for awhile. We have also updated the house in Wyoming and put a lot of time and money into it.  The house has been done since March. We have had a lot of people looking at it but nobody wanted it, they always thought it was nice but it was to small or this or that.  Well on June 30th we signed the papers to sell the house. The inspection will be today and hopefully all goes well and we could have the house sold by the end of the month.  We are very excited about this because no more double bills, we can pay off the cards, and have extra  money to go towards stuff for this house, Jeff's Back, and fun stuff. 

Jeff's Back

My hubby Jeff has scoliosis and had surgery when he was in 8th grade. It has been bothering him for years. It is now to the point where he can't walk or stand for long periods of time.  If he does he is incredible pain. He has put off going to the dr until the last couple of months.  Our regular doctor sent him in for MRI's and referred him to an neuro/ortho doc. This doc sent him to have more x rays, and now he is sending him to a more advanced specialist on Tuesday.  They wouldn't tell Jeff over the phone what they saw or what is wrong which we all know isn't a good sign.  The surgeries to fix his back aren't cheap and what we would have to pay out of pocket is alot no matter what surgery he has done.  Depending on the surgery he could be out of work from 2  weeks to 6 to 8 weeks.  There is so much going on right now.  Next blog: House sold in Wyoming.  Yeah!!!!!

don;t how much more I can take

I am really in a pickle because I can't punish these kids that aren't mine but yet I have to make them behave.  I am not sure how I can do this, when I yell at them about something they turn all around when they tell their dad and they do tell him.  They make everything into a big deal and even when it's something as little as me telling them to not punish their brother because they are not the parent. One of them finds it ok to yell at me but when I do it back, I am made to be a horrible person. I love my husband very much but this getting to be to much for me.  I feel when it comes to all three kids that I never do anything right in my husband's eyes.

Ready to Cry

I have been working out for about an hour every week day for the last week and 1/2 for almost an hour a day but I haven't lost a pound, actually the scale says that I gained a pound. I am so very frustrated. I really want to lose the weight, I don't want to look like this anymore. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I do yoga and 30 minutes of cardio one day and strength training and 30 minutes of cardio the other day. I am so very disappointed.

working out

I have been working out everyday so far this week. I might not have lost any weight but I am sure something is being done because my muscles in my legs and arms are killing me.  As of today I also had sweat dripping down my back and off my head. I am sure that is a good sign that I am knocking off calories. My goal is to be able to walk 2 miles by the end of summer with struggling to breathe.  I need to go get my medicine for the nebulizer to help get my breathing under control.

Overweight

I have really decided I don't like the way I look or feel.  I get out of breath pretty easily when I am chasing after Ethan. (of course, I do have asthma so that doesn't help) I just want to get down to a size 8 or 10. I don;t like my tummy hanging over my pants or my boobs the size they are.  So as of yesterday, I started using the wii fit and decided to walk or ride my bike everyday.

Summer vacation

My summer vacation started on Friday.  But of course Ethan was sick, so it wasn't very much fun.  Then yesterday we did more rearranging in the house. I do hope that is done for awhile.  Last night Jeff and I went out for dinner, and on our way home we got to watching the clouds and it looked very nasty everywhere but the Elmwood area got hit with a tornado and it destroyed  most of downtown.  I feel a little helpless, wishing that I could do something.  Today, I hope will be relaxing. I am going to try out to new burger recipes that I found with my own little twist. 

I will spend my summer babysitting two kids starting next week. I plan on going to see the Lego exhibit at Lakeview and going to the zoo. I don't have to worry about going to a pool, as we already own one.  Of course summer is never summer with out doing a little school work.

anniversary

I know that Jeff and mine anniversary isn't as long as some of our friends but it seems that we have been together forever. We have really grown in the last 7 yrs being married and as a whole 9. We have grown to know each others quarks and to know when one of us is upset and how to handle each other. We just like to spend time on our anniversary at home with our kids doing family things. We don't need to do anything special to know how much we love each other. He is the love of my life and I would never change that.

Last days of school for the year

I am sitting in study hall with my students and all but one is doing nothing. THey are loud and don't care who comes in to tell them to be quiet. We only have 4 days of school left and I can't wait. The students are going insane. I can't wait because then my boss can leave me alone for a couple of months and I dont have to worry about all the extra work she makes us do.

Grumpy

Somebody told my hubby that I am grumpy alot. I never thought of it as grumpy but iy probably is. I work all day and am still expected to cook, clean, and do laundry. So when I ask to have the dishwasher unloaded, their toys, clothes, etc. picked up or whatever it is, I would like it done the first time and not have to repeat myself multiple times. Of course it doesn't help that my hubby makes fun of me constantly or the kids don't get along. It just adds to the daily stress. Their is also the possibility that I have been nonstop sick the last 3 months. I think that all this stuff adds up to grumpy to me.

Quiet evening home

I am spending a quiet evening home by myself. Jeff took the boys fishing and I have the house to myself. It is nice after the way this week is going. Work is driving me insane and tonight I have nothing to do but veg in front of the tv or do whatever I want whenever I want. I have never enjoyed this so much as I have now. I am normally the one with kids while Jeff is off doing whatever. I am not saying he goes off to do whatever, mainly it has been working on the Wyoming house and of couse I can't help with that. I do hope that my hubby is having a little fun even if he has Ethan with him. That boy is a handful. Of course, I can't stand that everybody finds something wrong with him and the kids are always picking on him and trying to telling him what to do. They pick on him and hurt him because they are trying to make him behave when they aren't the parents.
This rabbling has gotten off topic. Oh well.

Car Stolen

Our car was stolen out of our garage last night. That takes some balls to break into a garage while we are home and steal our car. It makes me feel a little scared and frightened. We keep the doors to the house locked except for the side door because of taking the dog at night. Now everything will be locked. Never thought in a small town that I would feel like this.

Census

I am making it a point to tell everybody to fill out there census and send it back in. This census helps your local schools and towns get money. The government spends money in communities based on how many people are there. the more people the more money or ratio of it goes to them. I know that money is tight everywhere but sooner or later it will get back to normal and they will spend it where it belongs. This is the first census I filled out and I am glad that I did.

Up way to early and bats

I am up way to early for a Saturday morning. My husband had to go into work this morning so he was up and 5ish. He thought he would be funny and wake me up to ask if I was going to make his coffee. The not so funny part is that jackson woke up. Jackson in turned woke up Ethan, so guess who didn't get to go back to sleep: me. Yikes. I guess I could get an early start on my chores so that this afternoon when Jeff gets home, I dont have them to do. My morning is busy due to taking Jayson to get his haircut and the bat guy coming to set traps and catch a bat.

Here is the thing with the bat. In November, I saw a bat when Jeff was gone to Warrensburg. Everybody thought it was just one and we couldn't find it. Then one night when Jayson was in the basement he saw a bat. We have found dead bats in the basement. On Thursday night, Jeff finally saw a bat. He said it was bigger then the others and flew around the downstairs and then went back upstairs. I missed it of course. When I got back, Jeff and Jayson were going bat hunting. Jeff had a flashlight and Jayson had a fishing net. They looked all over the house except for the attic because there is no light up there. Of course, this sight was absolutely hilarious. Jeff decided we had better call somebody and he said that there is probably a nest and the one Jeff saw was a female. He is coming out today to see what he can do. Yikes!!!

Sitting home by myself

I am sitting home by myself today because I am sick and everybosy else is at a family thing. I am wondering when this stupid sickness is going to go away. My face still hurts and I have a headache. I don't really want to take my tylenol with codeine because I don't like the feeling but this pain is annoying me. This quiet is driving me crazy and yet I don't want a bunch of noise either. I hope they find something out from my blood tests, this has been a major pain in my butt.

annoying family and being sick

I will start with the being sick part. I haven't felt good for awhile. I first thought it was cold and being run down from my time of the month. They seem to go hand and hand lately. So I didn't think much about it last week and started feeling better this last weekend. On Monday, I got a horrible headache, which I just thought was due to the weather. Then I got another one on Tuesday night, and by Weds. morning my face hurt so much and felt like it was on fire. I went to the dr. I have a severe sinus infection which if I am not careful, I could end up in the hospital. They put me on 2000 mg of antibiotic and prendisone. I have been on this for 2 days and it doesn't seem to be working. I have missed two days of work and with ISAT's next week this sucks.

On with the annoying family thing. Why do they even bother to ask us what we have going on and just schedule what they want no matter how inconvenient it is for the rest of us. They wait until last minute to say they want to do something and just think that we will drop everything to make it work. I don't want to travel 45 min when we could just have this 10 minutes from the where we live. Why do they only think of themselves?

Keep your fingers crossed

A few months ago we moved to Toulon IL and have been paying two mortgages on two houses. My hubby has slowly been working on the other house, trying to get it ready to sell. The only room left is the kitchen. It has taken him some time to get everything else done due to him working everyday and being to tired sometimes to work over there. We got a phone a couple of weeks ago about somebody coming to look at our other house. Didn't think to much about it because we hadn't heard back. So today my hubby got a phone call from our relator telling us they were coming back to look at the house for a second time. They narrowed from 6 housed to two and one of them is ours. They wanted to know what kind of concessions we might make and what needs to finished. So as we speak, Jeff and Jayson are at the other house working. This will probably happen all week. I hope that they buy the house because it would be a load off of us.

Valentine's Day at home with the family

It was kind of nice spending the day home with my family. We just spent the day watching the incredibly long race. Jeff and I sat cuddled on the couch while the kids played and watched movies. Not exactly the most romantic way to spend the day but better then being alone. It is incredibly hard to believe that we have been together almost 10 years this summer and married 7 yrs in May. I look at my husband at times and can't believe it.

Peaceful Day at home

I am enjoying a peaceful day at home with my boys and hubby. We are sitting on the couch watching a show on History channel with Tom Brokaw and flipping to Discovery to watch Mythbusters. Ethan is playing with his trains and listening to his Ipod. Jayson let him use it one day and now he wont give it back. It is so cute to watch him walk around, stop and then start dancing. I finished a book this morning, and started a new one. I have my evaluation this week and hope everything goes well, I really would like to be tenured and have a little security.

Just one of those days

Today has been one of those days where I thought it started out ok but just went downhill. One of my classes is non-stop talking and just doesn't seem to understand why that is a problem. It is not just one or two but almost half if not more. I have tried just about everything I can think of. So the end of the day, just seemed to never end. As I am leaving my hubby asks me to go to the bank to get money so we can buy a bowflex, and I politely said yes if he would make supper. I arrived home and supper was made and we ate. Then he decides that he is to tired to go, I was a little annoyed. That little trip put me home 1/2 hour later then normal. As we are sitting on the couch my oldest brings in his report card. He got two F and 3 D's for the quarter and one F for the semester. Before we got the report card he decided he wanted to really try, so we thought that is cool. I get on to check his current grades and he has two missing papers in one class and one missing in another. I don't think he fully understands what can happen. As a mom this bothers me and as a teacher it annoys the crap out of me. All of those papers are done and just not turned. The very last thing to top my day is that I would really like to have another baby someday soon. I said something along those lines to my hubby and he told that I had to be 130. I couldn't believe that. Why, Why, Why!!!!

How can some parents just leave their kids

I have this thought on my mind a lot recently. My stepson's mom left him years ago and I could never understand that especially after I had Ethan. I have tried everything to make him realize that he is a son to me but unfortunately he hasn't thought of me this way. A little over a month ago he found his mom on facebook and I feel our relationship has taken a turn for the worse. I am not sure how to fix it or make it better. I feel a little hurt by his reaction to her and in turn how he has been treating me.

Now, just a little over two weeks ago, we have added another teenager to our household. This one got kicked out of his grandfathers house. His mother gave up guardianship to an uncle and he doesn't even live with him. His grandma died a year ago and so he is left with much of nothing. He has an older brother but he is not even 25 yet and not able to take care of him.

How can parents do this?