Turner's Syndrome and Princess

Awhile back I told you that I would talk about Turner's Syndrome someday. Well I guess today is as good as any day. I am going to attempt to keep this as short and as informational as possible for you. Please understand that I am not a doctor, and this is basically how I understand what I am about to write. I may not have all the facts correct.

My daughter was born with TS, it's not hereditary or anything like that. It's basically a fluke. Before she was born I had never heard of TS before. I went through a crash course after she was born. Back then there wasn't a lot of info on the web that was in people language. There were a bunch of really big words for me to try and read, and I ended up more confused than when I first began researching TS.

First a quick lesson on cells and chromosomes. the body is made up of cells, which are our DNA. The cells are, for lack of a better word, the envelopes that hold the chromosomes that tell the body how to make us. In each cell there are supposed to be 46 chromosomes. The chromosomes are the things that say whether we have blond hair, eye color, how many fingers...you get the idea. Girls have two X chromosomes in each cell, and boys have a Y (that's where they get that testosterone from. I'm kidding I have no clue on that.) and an X chromosome. Ok, I told you it would be quick, moving on.

Only girls have TS, due to an X chromosome either missing or a different variation of it and I will cover that in a bit. About 99% of the fetuses spontaneously abort themselves due to sever complications. So whenever you hear a mom say that her TS daughter is a miracle, she speaks the truth. They are our miracles. They all come with a wide variety of medical concerns, from sever to mild, and no two are alike.

There are three types of TS, the first one being Monosomy or Classic Turner's, about 50% of TS girls have this kind. With this kind the chromosome is completely missing. The girls who have this type show the most physical features and medical conditions. This is the type that Princess has, and I will get into this more.

The next type is Mosaicism Tuner's and about 30-40% are born with this type. With this type they have some of the 46th chromosomes or only part of the 46th chromosome. There's no set order to this, so each girl will have different things going on. Girls with this typically don't show as many physical features, or have as many medical conditions. Some will menstruate, and can become pregnant but go through a very early menopause. They are also not diagnosed until usually later in life due to the lack of TS physical features being absent.

The last type is Ischromosome which occurs in 12-20% of girls. The features and medical conditions are similar to the type Monosomy.

Now onto Classic Turner's. With this type there are many physical features that are present. With Princess the fact that her hands and feet were puffy was the initial indication that she had TS. I'm going to list some of the physical features that are usually present with this type. Not every girl has these and I am not going to list them all as the list can be long. Of the following, Princess exhibits seven of the features plus more not listed.

short stature

a low hairline at the back of the neck 

broad chest 

small jaw 

a narrow, high arched palate 

shorter fingers 

soft, spoon shaped fingernails 

prominent ears 

Nearly half of the females with Turner syndrome have a condition known as lymphedema resulting in puffiness in the hands and feet at birth. 

Some of the medical conditions are as follows:

underdeveloped ovaries or non existent

constricted aorta- Princess has a bi-cuspid aorta and widening of the aortic root

misshapen kidneys, or horseshoe kidneys- one of Princess's kidneys is slightly bigger than the other

Eustachian tubes do not work properly and cause middle ear infection and possible hearing loss

short sightedness

scoliosis 

thyroid problems

The chromosome that is missing is the one that tells the body to keep growing, and to go through puberty. Most TS girls take growth hormones to grow and later take estrogen to develop a normal female body. Some TS girls prefer not to go these routes.

When Princess was born the doctor told me that she could be severely mentally disabled or a genius. (way to close that gap there doc) If she actually used her brain she would be closer to the genius range, just saying. There is however a common learning impairment that is associated with TS and it is called Nonverbal Learning Disability. This means that there might be problems with math, and  they may find visualizing objects in relation to one another more difficult, this is called visual-spatial relationships.

Well thank you for reading this post, if you know a girl or woman who might show the signs of TS let them know they are not alone, and there is help out there. People often ask me if I'm mad at God for this, and my honest answer has always been...absolutely not. He decided that she was the perfect child for me, and I the perfect mom for her. Together we can educate and inform others of this Syndrome and let them know there is nothing to be afraid of. 


Ok so I have no idea what I did to make some of this weird looking, and I have no idea how to fix it...sorry folks. Just been one of those days.

Women are Not Idiots

I really hate it when a guy acts like you don't have a clue. I mean just because your a female doesn't mean that God didn't give you a brain. I'm not saying that every woman out there has knowledge of everything but that doesn't mean she is stupid, it just means she hasn't had the opportunity to learn. Seeing a woman acting all stupid in front of a guy drives me nuts, it's so degrading to the rest of us. Stop it! If you are guilty of this, I now give you a cyberspace bitch slap, stop it I said. If you just want to be catered to and be a princess, well then go ahead, but don't act stupid and sell yourself or us short. 


I don't know when this behavior started, but I do know that it's been going on for along time, probably since the beginning of time. I might make some enemies by saying that women can not do everything a guy can, there are some things that we do need help with or struggle to do. The same is true if you flip the coin.


Now I get the whole concept of the need to make a man feel needed, you know the male ego thing. However I struggle with this one. I am  a very independent person. I was taught that if you want something done right and done now, do it yourself. I do not have the patience to sit there asking DH over and over again to do something that I am perfectly capable of doing. It's a waste of time, and only gets me frustrated, but heaven forbid I do a "mans" job. Not even going to touch that subject today. 


DH and I both bring different things that we do well into the relationship. Like DH is a much better cook than I am. He can look in the pantry and whip something up out of nothing, I can not do that at all. He spent much of his life working in restaurants and working with chefs and cooks, me I would much rather prefer to go to a restaurant and have someone else cook for me. I don't have the experience that he does, but I am learning. For me, I bring the ability to work on vehicles to the relationship. I never liked working on cars, but most of the ex-boyfriends were mechanics so I picked up things while I helped. I can tear apart a motor and rebuild it, but again, I would rather pay someone to do it for me.


There are many other traits that we both bring to the relationship, and that is what part of being in a relationship is all about. Where one is weak the other is strong. What seems to happen here is...I get schooled on how to fix a car from someone who has much less experience than myself. Please don't tell me the truck got fucked up because I didn't change the oil, and further more don't be telling other people that this is what happened, especially when neither of us actually knew at the time what happened to the truck. It's all about the facts here buddy.


Oh I must still be steaming over this cuz here it comes. Fact a motor will not blow up if you don't change the oil on a regular basis. It will if you never change it. It does wear on the motor and eventually...say like several years later will be part of the problem but that is not the case here. Fact a motor will blow a rod even if the oil is changed on a regular basis if the motor is just plain worn out. Fact a motor will seize up if there is no oil in it, or if there was enough damage to the head due to overheating. I wont even mention the fact that someone said they would change the oil before it got cold out...oops, I did, my bad.  Fact non of this happened to the truck. It was a mechanic failure, and had absolutely nothing to do with the motor. Guess I need to school my mechanic on how to tighten fucking bolts. 


I really don't appreciate being treated like an idiot in an area that I have a lot of experience in, and by all means I'm not saying I know everything about working on a car. I don't try to teach him how to cook, I mean that would be asinine. I do run new things I learn about cooking by him to see what he thinks, some of it is new to him, some not. I do try to let him work on the truck without being condescending. If you already know it, just let me know and I will move on to something else. I will not sit there and re-school you on something you already know. It's just a waste of our time. 


Men need to stop treating us like idiots because we are not. If you have the need to pretend you are stupid, you really should re-read the first paragraph. Smack upside your head bee-och. Our brains are perfectly capable of learning new things. So please don't go around acting like we are just stupid and need to be taken care of. If it came down to it, we really could figure out how to do it on our own. We might not "get-er-done" right the first time, and we probably wouldn't win any speed tests, but we'll get there...eventually. Life is in fact all about learning and gaining knowledge, and it's very debilitating when your not even given the chance to try learn. 

Someone is Watching and Princess was Abducted by Aliens!

I stated writing this yesterday, but me and writing with the whole family home equals nothing, so I am finishing this today. I hope.


Have you ever had the feeling that someone was watching you...like when you sleep? I have for sure. Superman has this habit of walking up to me and staring at me while I sleep. He usually doesn't say any thing, just stands there staring, for a really long time. Like half an hour or more. The first couple of times this happened I almost took him out. You know that automatic reaction? Now with my eyes still closed I just ask him what he wants, and his usual response is, "I want you to get up." He has often gotten the answer of, "no, it's too early. Now go back to bed." He unfortunately is a very early person, I am not. I don't notice him doing this so much anymore, and I'm sure in the even that if someone breaks into the house and sits there staring at me I will tell them to go back to bed. I'm sure it's not the reaction they would expect.
  
I woke up this morning and went downstairs and in my sleep induce zombie state, I wondered why I didn't see Princess up since she is always up before me. So I looked in her room, and she wasn't in there. The first thought that came to mind was..."oh my God, she was taken by aliens!" 

As soon as I thought this, I wondered where the hell did that come from? Why would that be the first thought that come to mind? It slowly entered my brain that she did not in fact get abducted by aliens, but that she was at school taking tests. It was a really bizarre kind of morning for me. Getting watched over while sleeping and having my daughter get abducted. I wondered what the rest of the day might bring...witches, zombies...not even going to think about it.

Dear Truck

Dear truck:

Why do you hate me so much? I mean I really don't understand why you would do this to me. I though we had an agreement? Apparently I was wrong. It must have been a cross in our communication, well I guess on my part because this came out of no where. 

We were just sitting there waiting for DH to get out of work. You know just like you and I do everyday, well except Sundays that is. Me jamming to some tunes, and you keeping me nice and warm. We were hanging like BFF's.

I suppose it was as good of place as any, well I suppose in the driveway would have been much better. I'm not complaining dear truck, I'm just thankful you chose to wait until we were  parked. 

I will have to say the music you played did not really go with the song I was listening too. The beat was a bit off, and by the way, extremely loud. It certainly woke my ass up, that's for sure.

The chwap chwap chwap... BANG music you played 

would have been a sweet bootie swinging beat if not for the fact it scared the shit outta me. I made sure I turned you off right away, I had to protect you I hope you realize. 

I popped your pretty E-lectric blue hood to find the cause of this noise. Imagine how my heart sank as I saw a wet substance all over your pristine motor. Oh Lordy girl you were hurt pretty bad, and then I heard you crying your oil all over the ground. The pain you were is must have been horrible.

I tried my best to figure out what happened, but alas it was dark out and your little under the hood light didn't quite reach where I needed to see. I know you gave me what you had, and me being so short most definitely  didn't help. I know my shortness failed you there in that parking lot. 

DH and I gently pushed you into a parking spot where there was better light. Sweetheart I know this isn't really the time to bring this up, but you were pretty heavy. I think you could loose a few pounds. DH was the one to find your belt just hanging and off it's pulley wheels, but alas it was still too dark to see what had happened.

So DH will call the bestest tow truck, to gently carry you home. I'm sorry it will have to wait until tomorrow for tomorrow is payday. I hope your not scared out there, just know there are always your kind parked next to you. 

I only hope when you get home sweet home that I'm able to find your problem. I hope it really isn't anything too serious, but the sinking feeling in my stomach tells me it is. It's never a good thing to see your oil all over the engine and crying on the ground.

Your spot in the driveway looks so bare without you. The van is very sad that you are not by it's side. I will have to get a new battery for your friend the van, since I've neglected the van. Just between you and me...I like you much better. I really shouldn't say that about the van. It did after all get us through after you threw a tantrum and put a hole in your break-line. Wasn't it enough that I proudly drove you around town, with your bad ass motor just rumbling and your fan screaming?

Remember the time the cop pulled us over. He thought your exhaust was too loud, and I showed him the receipt from when we installed shiny new pipes. I gave you some gas and we showed him it was just your power, and not any flaw in your shiny new pipes. Boy was he surprised, the look on his face was priceless and got a chuckle out of me. 

So until tomorrow when I can see you again, I will get the tools ready, and lay out my grubs. I will ...screw it here's how it's really gonna play

I'm gonna get your ass towed here, look to see what the hell happened, and do a whole shit load of swearing and a throw a whole lot of tantrums. I'm really gonna spaz if there is a rod thrown. Then it's gonna be me against you and I guarantee I will win you snotty little money sucking bitch. Take that and shove it up your shiny new tailpipes.

Ah I feel much better now. Ya'll make sure you listen for the swearing tomorrow cuz I'm sure you'll be able to hear it miles and miles away.

Update: Got the truck home and found it wasn't the poor things fault at all. It seems the mechanic who put my new fan in did something or rather didn't do something and the fan flew off. It took a pulley, the brand new serpentine belt with it, and also put a nice cut into the tranny line. He's fired!  

Little Girl

Oh Lord it's one of those days where the humor just seems to be hiding from me, and I'm all in a funk. I wrote this for a friend a while back, but in truth...it's part of my story.


So the little girl could not understand why this all was happening to her. She prayed to God every day, only to find He had left no answer. The days dragged on, while she carried this burden only to make repeated mistakes based on her emotions. Dear Lord, if another does not respect my body, then why Lord should I? I can use it to get what I think I want and need, everybody just uses it the way they want anyways. 


And so the choices she made as life went on left scars much deeper than he ever did. The "hiding" the pain in a bottle of whiskey worked only for alittle while, eventually she was drowning and her "life vest" couldn't save her. It was time to confront the demons that stalked her day in and day out. Dear Lord, she said I've made a bigger mess. How do I become happy and enjoy this life you've given? 


Dear child he said, all you have to do is love and forgive. Give me your burdens, and I will take them for you. Rest in peace tonight dear child for there is a reason this happened to you. You felt this violation so that you may help another. Someone who is just as lost as you were so many years ago. Guide her and keep her safe, you know the path to get through the pain. When she stumbles, help her to walk tall. When she makes the wrong choices direct her straight, and know dear child that even though you don't always hear me...I'm just a heart beat away. 


So with that chapter coming to an end, a new one begins. The little girl, now a woman and a mother reaches out her hand to help the other stand.

The Back Burner

Sometimes things happen in our lives that make a huge impression. Some of these would be good thing, others...not so great. Let's talk about the not so great things for a bit.

Without these bad things we wouldn't be the person we are. Whether it was living with alcoholic parents, beatings, molesting, and all the other horrible things that can happen to a person we must remember we are not alone. 

Sometimes things in our current life just aren't going very smooth. It maybe that we keep making bad decisions in relationships, or maybe following in the footsteps of an abuser. The variables are too many to list here, but our past has a habit of following us around. Especially if we have not dealt with it or come to terms over what happened in the past. 

Please don't take this as me being flippant, and me thinking things can just change over night. I know it sure can't. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of courage to face the demons that continue to plague us and bring us down. The fact of the matter is, we just have to take that step into the fear in order to heal. 

Nobody want's to do something that bring the feeling of fear, and nobody sure as hell wants to relive a horrible moment in time. We are fearful of being swallowed by the pain, but pain unfortunately in this case is good. I know that I tend to be the type of person who kind of puts things on the back burner to deal with at a later date. Then I carry on with my busy life. It's not that I don't want to deal with it, but it's that there is so much more going on that I just don't have the time. Eventually things in my life start melting down. Well actually it's me that does the melting. It becomes too much for me to carry, and I have to deal with it if I want to continue living a full life. 

So when I come to that point in life where nothing is going right, I have to take a step back and evaluate the things on that back burner. I have gone back to that back burner many times in my life. Most of the things are new, every once in awhile it's something that I thought I had already dealt with.  

With me, my body is the indicator that my load is too much, and it's time to clean house. My body starts manifesting problems to let me know things aren't right. I might start breaking out in sudden hives for no reason. My eyes might all of a sudden swell shut. I might catch every bug going around because my immune system is shutting down because my stress level is so great that my body focuses only on dealing with the stress. I get headaches all the time. A lot of them are stress headaches. I have long periods of depression also.  

I hate living like that, being sick all the time really sucks. While some of the things are actually legitimate like my seizures, there are many that are cause by just plain ole stress. If I want to get better health wise...I have to put on my big girl panties, buck up and face whatever is causing my body to hate me. I hate having to clean off that back burner, but I hate being sick all the time more. It's my choice on whether or not I'm going to be healthy. 

For some of you out there the past events in your life have caused mental problems. Hey that ok. It's totally ok to have mental problems. It doesn't change who you are on the inside, it just makes life...a bit more interesting to deal with. I also have to tell you that you are not alone. There are many people out there just like you. The events that started you down that road may be different, but the out come is the same. 

Whether your dealing with something mentally, or physically I want you to know that you are loved, no matter what your faults or problems may be. Go on give yourself a big ole hug, you deserve it. 

Hey I wasn't joking on the giving yourself a hug thing...do it now. Ok much better. See I have that mommy power. I can make you do something from miles away. 

If you need to talk to someone shoot me an email. Sometimes it's easier to talk with someone you don't know. There isn't much out there that will shock me. I will be honest though, I do not deal well with suicidal thoughts. I am still trying to come to grips on this, and I tend to freeze on this topic, but I will do my best to listen because everybody deserves to be heard.

Ya know these post just never seem to go in the direction that i thought I wanted to go. I guess it all depends on where my heart is. Hope you get something from this and continue to read as I ramble on through this Crazy Life.  

Laying Down the Law

I have lost it. Yep plain ole lost it. I'm getting sick and tired of telling the boys to do something, and them not listening. I do not like repeating myself, but with them I sound like a broken record. Well tonight I'm done.


The boys were actually playing great together for a really long period of time, which happens like maybe twice a year. They were having a good ole time destroying a ball, balloon, and who knows what else...I'm sure I'll step on the pieces later tonight. They also were playing with the retractable dog leash, which they know is a no,no. Told them several times to put it away. Did they listen...of course not. Just like when they didn't listen when I told them to eat their dinner. Guess what went into the garbage?


On school nights we start getting jamma's on and doing Superman's neb and all the good stuff that goes with getting ready for bed at 7PM. Tonight however they decided once again not to listen to me. Saw that one coming didn't you. After 20 minutes of telling them to put the dog leash away, and 15 minutes of me telling them to get their jammies on, I lost it. I will freely admit it, I lost it.


I walk into the living room and start heading down the hallway...Jokester is the first to see me and starts moving to the living room where his jammies are, Superman is still attached to the dog leash and doesn't have a clue yet that I'm on my way. He finally looks up and sees me and immediately starts saying, "I'm sorry mom" over and over again. He now starts heading back to the living room. 


I manage to grab Jokester's arm and spin him around and start marching him towards the stairs, catching Superman as we go. Jokester is crying, "I don't have my jammies on", superman is still on the I'm sorry mom thing. I bellow, GET UP STAIRS...NOW! Both boys are now crying and saying sorry. I yell once more, "I don't care if your sorry. You were told to leave the dog leash alone and get your jammies on. Your going to bed now!" 


Screw the jammie's, screw brushing teeth, screw the meds (DH is gonna get my head for this one if he reads this post), screw going potty, screw getting tucked in, screw getting the music box wound up, screw the snot running down both faces. I'm done. Not playing this game any more.
I gave each of them their good night kisses snot and all, shut off the light and went downstairs.


Five minutes later Jokester walks into the kitchen where I am, and says to me, "we really need to talk about this." Whoa there boy, just who do you think you are? He really has no clue he's adding fuel to the fire and that I'm at the exploding point. I look at him and say, " Jokester, I'm tired of telling you guys to do stuff over and over again. You don't listen to me until I'm screaming at you. I don't like yelling and I told you nicely to put the dog leash away. I told you nicely to get your jammie's on. You and Superman decided you didn't need to listen to me. You both caused this, now get - into - bed."


Five minutes later Superman is in the kitchen telling me he really wants to play. Oh really? So I told him no and to get back up into bed. I'm thinking what the fuck boys, do you really not hear me or what? My head is ready to explode from the headache they have given me. Oh happy night, but at least I laid down the law. 

Shoveling Snow...Not a Good Idea

Today is supposed to be a pretty mellow day. Hopefully it stays that way, although looking out my window at the snow that is coming down...it might make things a bit more interesting later while I'm out driving. 

Yesterday wasn't such a good day for me. I was in a lot of pain. My arthritis was kicking my butt. So far today it seems to be doing ok, but then again I haven't gone out to shovel yet or actually done much of anything so far. 

It's sort of funny. I went to the Rheumatologist originally for the pain in my hips, but he seemed more focused on my hands. So I asked him why he was looking at my hands, because to me it seemed there wasn't a problem there, it was my hips that were killing me. 

He says to me, "your dad has psoriasis doesn't he?" "Um, well yes he does, but how did you know that, and further more what does that have to do with my hands?" It seems that people who have or are carriers of Psoriasis tend to get arthritis more. I so, did not know that, but I do now, and since I'm so nice I decided you all need to know that too. See, you can learn something from me. Then again if you already knew this, well I guess your just S.O.L today. Catch you some other time.

So back to the doc...I says to him I says, "you know my hands don't really hurt, It's my hips that hurt." So he reluctantly stops examining my hands, pushes on one of my hips, which sends me clinging to the ceiling in pain. Once I manage to uncling myself from the ceiling and am sitting back on the table trying to look like I didn't just fly onto the ceiling, he says, "yep you have Bursitis in your hips." Now I have heard of Bursitis before but didn't really know what is was, and isn't that something much older people get? Apparently not, because that is exactly what is wrong with my hips. Yeah me! I even Goggled it and the internet says my doctor isn't blowing smoke up my ass. We all know the internet is all knowing right?

Well the doc puts me on some medicine for the arthritis and Prednisone for the hips, get a shot of cordisone in the hips . Took the Prednisone for about four months and guess what? Holy crap! The hands that didn't hurt, stopped hurting, along with my hips to of course. It seems the arthritis came on slowly in my hands and I didn't really notice the change and I just thought the fatness of my fingers was just due to weight gain. (I have some short fat fingers people, I shall never be a piano player with these stubs.) Suddenly I could almost get my rings back on, and actually fold my hands (not that I do that very often, but if I wanted to, I could now).


It's time to go back to the doc, because my hips are hurting big time, and in the last week or so I haven't been able to even open a bag of chips. My fingers just don't want to work, and they hurt so bad and are swollen again. It makes it very hard to get things done around here. It's funny how something that I didn't even know "hurt" before, is making life so hard now. Live and learn I guess.

By the way...shoveling wasn't such a good idea. Hands and fingers are now on fire. 

Wondering What's Wrong

Do you ever have those days where your just kinda there? Where nothing seems to quite fit or seem right? I'm sure you have, I know I have. It's not that your depressed, or sad, and it's not that anything really is wrong. It's just a feeling of being out of sync. Can't quite put your finger on it.

Kind of like when your hungry or craving  something, but nothing sounds good. You keep trying different foods but none of them do the job for you and that craving is still there. I get that one a lot. I tend to get bored with the same foods all the time. DH got the idea one time to buy a butt load of hamburger cuz it was cheap and we didn't have much money at the time. By the second night of eating meals that consisted of hamburger I was done.  

Life is funny, things can be going just great, and all of a sudden... Wham! This thing just knocks you upside the head. After getting your senses back you stand there and look around wondering what the hell just happened. People around you can tell something isn't right, but when they ask you, all you can say is, " I don't know" which sounds stupid as all hell. I mean it's you, and you should know what's going on right?

It usually doesn't last long, maybe not even a day, but it gets you thinking. Thinking about things that are going on in your life. Trying to figure out where this feeling is coming from. You start ponder on your life and how it's going. You slowly start checking off things that aren't leading to this feeling. Things like, is it your job, your spouse, your kids, you health...

You spend an enormous amount of time trying to figure out just what is wrong. For some of you it's now starting to cross the line from pondering to obsessing on it. It sometimes goes down this road for me. Now your analyzing everything with a fine tooth comb. Still getting nothing. 

Then something happens for just a moment...something that makes you stop, and take notice of it. It might be your children just being goofy and cracking each other up. Maybe it's noticing a new flower in your garden that is beautiful. Maybe it's seeing a lady who looks like the world gave up on her. Maybe it's the rainbow after the rain. Maybe it's the child in the store who's crying because they want a piece of candy. It could be the old man just taking a walk and enjoying life. Then it hits you...

This thing that has been plaguing you all this time. This thing that you started  becoming so obsessed about just trying to figure it out. This thing that robbed you of all this time wasted. Turns out to be so simple. So easy. Something that should be second nature for all of us. 

You forgot to stop and enjoy life. Many people call it, "stopping to smell the roses". We get so busy doing our lives that we forget to just be. To live. To breathe. We forget to bask in the child's laughter. We forget to be thankful for what we have. We stop noticing others. We stop having a giving heart. We need to start living our lives, and to do that...we must stop doing our lives. 

The Bullshit Trials of a School System

Well I was just reading one of One Tired Mama's Posts about schools, and IEPs and all the crap we as parents have to deal with regarding our child's education. Now I have to write this, cuz apparently I'm still pissed at said school system. A lot. 


The first round began with Princess back in elementary school. Princess has Turner's Syndrome, and with it comes some special things.  Someday I'll devote a post just to TS, but not today. 


The main reason that Princess had an IEP was for her speech therapist. Part of TS is a high arched palette. It make pronouncing words correctly more difficult. Even now if she talks too fast I can't understand what she is saying. The other reason was for math and reading. She really had a tough time with both early on. 


Now I'm gonna begin the gritty nastiness of dealing with the schools. When Princess was in 4th grade we moved to Wisconsin. Once again she was given an IEP. No problems the first year, however the 5th grade turned out to be a nightmare for not only her, but her whole class.


Her teacher SUCKED! Big time. I called a conference with her because Princess's grade took a nose dive off a cliff. She didn't get great grades before, but she sure wasn't getting straight F's and D's. The teacher's response was, "Oh it's the whole class. All of them are really struggling." "Excuse me? Your telling me the whole class is having trouble, and flunking?" This is where it got really nasty, well I guess I got really nasty. Keep in mind this is a very small town school, I'm used to the big city schools.


I got up in her face and said, "I'm thinking it's not the students who are to blame. When you have eighteen kids flunking, something tells me it's the teacher. Your a crappy teacher!" Let me tell you that didn't go over so well.I ended up taking Princess out of school and home schooled her for the rest of the year and half of the next. The next year we had custody of our nephew and he ended up with the same teacher, and holy crap did she ever kiss my ass. Hope the new attitude stuck with her. I have never met a teacher who was so hated by so many students and parents. How sad.


When I started home schooling I found out that Princess didn't know her short and long vowels. How the hell did she get to 5th grade and not know her vowels!? I mean after all she had been in Title 1 reading for four years. Who the fuck missed the boat on this one? I had to start at the beginning with the phonics. She seriously would not have been able to read this post back back to me without 90% error. Within a year I had her caught up to her grade level and then some. This was done only teaching three to four hours a day. Something is very wrong with our school system.


Princess went from getting F's and D's to straight A's, and has continued doing this for six years. The next problem came when we moved back to Minnesota. Apparently these states do not use the same semester/trimester system. Because we had moved two weeks before the semester ended in Wisconsin, they refused to give Princess her ninth grade credits. Seriously?! The school I got her into is a Charter School, and their hands were tied on the credit thing, they couldn't just let her test out. They originally wanted to put her back in ninth grade to gain her credits. Oh yeah, not happening people. This kid worked her ass off and is not going back into ninth grade. Holy tantrum was happening here on our parts. We came up with a compromise...she would continue in the tenth grade and go to night school for her ninth grade credits. This girl went to school for eleven hours a day M-Th for an entire school year, and managed to get straight A's in both schools. Take that assholes. My girl rocks!!! She is almost caught up now, she has half a credit of math to do still, and we are not so worried she wont have the credits to graduate next year.


Now let's move on to Jokester's first year of school which was last year. He was in a different school since there were no openings at the school Princess goes to. I am kicking myself for putting him in this school. His teacher sucked ass too. Some back ground here. The boys have not really had the opportunity to socialize with other kids their age. Every where we move there are no kids their age. We don't know the people in our communities, so getting together with other parents and their kids wasn't happening. It's always been just the three of them. There was never any need to daycare or preschool. Jokester went to Kindergarten last year, and it was a nightmare. Twenty-three days into the school year his teacher wanted a conference. Ok, so I go. She tells me point blank that Jokester is NOT going to pass Kindergarten. Come again, what? She determined in twenty-three days that Jokester just wasn't ready for this. Umm, yeah it's going to take a bit for him to get the hang of this since this is completely new, but your writing him off already? Bitch. Basically in a nutshell we refused to take him out of school, she persisted with the shitty attitude towards him. If I had been able to get him in another Charter School I would have ASAP. I think Jokester is Dyslexic and when I brought it up to them they were like oh, maybe. They finally brought someone into school to test him but not for Dyslexia but rather for Autism/Aspburgers. Where did this come from? We waited and waited and waited for the test results...finally at the end of the year I found out he got into Princess's school and I went to get the records all together. Asked where the report on his testing was...they couldn't find the the results or the guy. I'm sorry You lost a whole guy, along with the test results on my son? So I called the new school and informed them of what was going on, and wasn't really sure what grade he would be going into. This was a actual concern since if he had to repeat Kindergarten they might not have an opening for him. They weren't too concern once they heard about the nightmare. Sometime during the summer I got a letter in the mail, stating he had flunked Kindergarten. Fuck you. 

He went into 1st grade this year, and didn't have to re-do Kindergarten. Yes he is struggling, which if the previous school had done their job right wouldn't be happening. Jokester's teacher says that he is making great progress, but he probably wont be up to the reading level he should be at the end of the year, but he wont be too far off, and the teacher is not too concerned. He is getting the extra help he needed so badly the year before, and is kicking butt in math which he struggled with so hard before. I continue to work hard with him here at home, and hopefully between the awesome school and myself we will get him where he is supposed to be, and make sure that he still likes school in the mean time. 

So for all you parents out there who are getting screwed over by the schools, your not alone. There are student advocates available...use them. If things are not going the way they should...become the biggest thorn in their side. If you don't fight for them they will just be swallowed in the bullshit of a school system. One other thing...schools and teachers don't expect you to give a crap. It is refreshing to have a parents support even if you make their life hell. There are so many parents out there who don't give a crap, so when you do step up and call the school out on something it takes them by surprise. They become hostile until they know your doing it for your kid, and not just blowing smoke up their ass. Keep at it and good luck.

Dog Sitting...Sort of

Thank you God! It's Friday. Well this is a blessing and a curse, but at least I don't have to get up early tomorrow. So that would be the blessing, and on another note...


I seriously can not believe I just sat on Smokey. Let me back track a bit. Shoved the kids out the door for school, and went to sit on the couch to decompress a bit. There was a dog in my spot. Now here is the good part...my couch is white (sort of) Smokey is black. How the hell did I not see a black dog laying on my not so white couch?  I must need more caffeine. To give him credit he just laid there, and gave me a look like, "hi, I'm already in this spot". 

Smokey doesn't do much or react much to anything. He just is. You ask him if he wants a treat...he just sits there looking at you. Ask him if he wants to go outside...just sits there. Try to play with him...yeah he just sits there. Unless you have the laser light, then he crawls on his belly pawing the little red dot. Just kinda scoots after it for a couple of minutes, then he's done. 



He doesn't bark when someone knocks on the door, but he does go to the door in his old man walk. Time is all he has. The one thing he does do or I should say the couple of  things he does is, barks at people and things outside, but not too much. Just lets them know he there. He whines when I leave, yes another dog with separation anxiety. Fortunately he isn't naughty like Henry. He just sits at the door and whines. He actually becomes giddy when I come home. It's like he's saying, "OMG! Your home! I missed YOU so much!!!" It doesn't really matter if I just came in from the basement, it totally makes his day. Oh yeah, his tail is always wagging, that is unless he's protecting BG's food dish, then he's attacking poor Henry. Then it's back to just sitting there.

Smokey is a Cocker Spaniel/Poodle mix, and unfortunately he has the skin problems that come with the Cockers. This poor thing is always scratching and licking. Let me tell you it took some getting used to hearing him scratch while I was in the shower. I kept getting out of the shower to see who was at the door. Thump, Thump, Thump is his tune. My tune is, "Smokey! Quit licking!" In fact it's become the family saying. Everyone is saying it now. It's a work in progress to get him some relief, I keep trying new things, and foods in the hopes one of these will work. So far, nothing. 

Well I really didn't have this in mind as I started writing today, but I must go with the flow. So now you get to learn about our Smokey. I don't really like Cockers, but looking at his droopy eyes with the lashes that any woman would kill for...my heart told me other wise. This old guy needed a forever home while he lives out his senior years, and our home is it for him. 

Random Thought: So glad I'm not a dog and have to potty outside in the cold. Yikes, makes me cold just thinking about it!

Getting My Freak On

I have a thing. It's a huge thing, well to me at least. I hate my hair. Yeah, yeah, I know most every woman hates their hair, but mine is different.

You see I have naturally curly hair that is ultra thick, now just wait before you go hating on me for this "awesome" hair, just hear me out.  I'll give you a bit of background on this hair that has become my nightmare.

When I was younger, my hair was of average thickness maybe a tad on the thick side. Not a problem. Then around age five the natural curl started with a gentle wave. Not too bad I guess, but as the years went on the thickness and the curliness grew. Basically when I was younger, if I didn't have a perm, it looked like I never brushed my hair. I could brush it and two minutes later it looked like I had been through a stiff wind. On the flip side of having a perm that controlled the hair, I now looked like a Q-tip. Oh yeah bad perms to the max. What really didn't help was the fact that my hair was so thick and I had so much it usually took three people to roll it. They all rolled it different. One was just right, one was too loose, and the other too tight. I guess I could be someone different depending on which way you were looking at me. Not funny. My natural look is a ting of wave in the front and sides, along with the top layer in back. The further down my head you go the curlier and kinkier it gets. A straightener does no good. Trust me I have tried, and after two hours of trying to straighten the back, I gave up.

Now on top of the curly hair, my hair's color is...let's just say different. At my temples I have natural blond streaks. These I actually like! No highlighting for me. The color of my hair however not so cool. I'm not blond or dirty blond, it's not brown, or light brown, it's not red or chestnut. It certainly isn't black. It is a mix of all these colors. I used to work with some people from Equator and I asked them to tell me the color of my hair in Spanish. They couldn't give me one. They just shrugged their shoulders and said, "I don't know".  Great! I have a undefinable hair color. You might think it sounds cool, but in reality it's just a muted mass of color mayhem. 

Now on top of all those colors I began getting grey or rather I should say white at the ripe ole age of 27. Thanks again mom, and dang it dad, Mr. sixty-four years old and not a single grey hair. Ya couldn't pass that gene on to me? The evil white hair is located on the top back of my head on each side in blobs. Yes you read correct...blobs. The right side being much whiter. Fortunately the top layer of hair covers it so you cant see it. I truly can't wait to see what an interesting look this will eventually be.

So as I get older the hair gets thicker, and curlier and the color changes. I can't wear it short because I look like I stuck my finger in a light socket.  Wearing it long, is stifling in the summer. It's so thick the air can't get through and my head sweats and itches all the time, and unless I put a TON of product in, which makes my head itch even more, my hair frizzes once it dries no matter what season it is.

Funny thing is, there is no one in the family who has this type of hair. If I didn't look so much like my dad I would think my mom had a little fun with the milk man. Then again there isn't anyone in the family who has two different colored eyes either. I guess I'm just a freak. So I'm gonna continue to get my freak on...oh that sounded kinda bad. 

This is my hair semi-dry and already starting to poof. God I hate having pictures taken of me!

Floating Blubberingness

Why is it that a lot of women second guess themselves? You know I really never used to do this, but lately I've noticed that I've been doing this a lot. Way back when I was younger, I would look at all the information on something, look at the pro's and con's and just make my decision. Now...I find I'm wishy washy. It's almost like I have forgotten just who I am, and what I like. What I liked yesterday I'm finding that I don't like today. Hell for that matter, what I liked an hour ago, I don't like now. This is really starting to piss me off! I hate being up in the air all the time. I liked my little routine that I followed, and heaven forbid if I didn't have my lists! Now I hate my routine, I find my lists make me depressed, and I feel like I'm just sort of floating around bouncing off of stuff.  What happened?

I can't really answer that because every time I think I've pinned it down it turns out to not be so. I do know somethings though,

I know I'm tired, just plain worn out.

I know I am finding out that I really do not like Minnesota winters! Thinking I'm gonna be a Florida transplant someday when I'm older and retire...yeah like that's ever going to happen, I'm talking about the retiring thing, of course I'm going to get older unfortunately.

I'm finding I really hate waiting on people who are perfectly capable of taking care of their own shit.

Listening to Smokey scratching and thumping is seriously going to push me over the edge. Especially if he's doing it right outside my bedroom door. Damn it dog I need my sleep!

I really hate doing homework with Jokester. Good Lord child just write your spelling words already.

I really hate vehicles. All vehicles. I'm gonna get me a horse and buggy, then again that would be really cold here, so Florida here I come. With my horse and buggy. You've had your warning.

Stupid drivers make me turn red. They will probably make me explode when I'm driving the horse and buggy.

I love bringing the boys outside during the summer and teaching them all about nature. Jokester is the best, and just soaks it all up. Superman, he's too busy trying to climb up the truck or get on the roof  of the house to pay much attention.

I know I can handle a major emergency and not panic, that is until everything is a okay. Then it's time to collapse into a heap of  emotional blubberingness.

I know that if someone breaks into the house they will definitely wish they hadn't. Cuz I will go all ape shit up in their face with my trusty bat and three crazy dogs on them. I probably wont sleep for a year after that though.

I love watching my children sleep. There is no need to explain this one.

I love seeing the sparkle in Princess's eyes while looking at brochures of collages. She can't wait, but I sure can. I'm not ready for my baby to leave the fold. Damn it she better pick one close to home.

I know that I should spend more time with my family and friends, but lately I've been finding it hard to leave the house. It makes me sad and frustrated because I just don't know why this is. 

These are all little parts of me I guess, plus so much more. As thoughts of likes and dislikes float through my head, somehow I need to reach out and plant them firmly down just so I can see who I truly am. Maybe it's just my age, maybe it's the crazy life that I've had starting to get to me. Maybe it's just a time for reflection and change. One thing is for certain and that is that I really really do not like roller coasters whether it be an actual one or the ride that is  my life.

SOPA , Dogs, Balls and of Course Chili

Well it's been a bit busy around here the last two days, and that would be why there hasn't been anything new. Well that and honoring the internet blackout...sort of. Ok, I have to call it what it is and it's laziness for the most part. I really tried to read the bill for SOPA, but alas it was too dry of a read for me. What I did happen to gather is that this bill is pretty vague in some very important areas, and usually when you have that it leads to a whole lot of confusion and bad out comes. We have to make sure we do our own homework when dealing with things of this nature to make sure we have the whole picture, and not just rely on someone to give us their take on it, so I do recommend that you actually read the bill for your self. I will warn you it's a long one.

Now for something a bit more lighthearted. 

It seems that BG doesn't really know how to play. I have bought different toys for her, and the out come with that was she adopted one as her baby. Wont play with it just protects it, and certainly wont let others play with it. Now Henry on the other hand LOVES to play...anything! Catch, fetch, tug, bones, rough housing, chase, track...I'm sure you have the picture now. Anyhow, I have been trying to get BG to play, and it's not going so great. 

So far the only things I have found that she likes is playing chase with me and the laser light. She will stalk it like a cat would stalk something, she will chase it, she even asks to play with it. Small problem here though and that is that our house is small. There isn't much space for her to run after it. The kitchen is out since the girl only has three legs and non-carpeted surfaces are a nightmare for her. Our living room is pretty much a walkway between the couch and tv, and the hallway ends in tiled floor so she must scrunch herself into a ball just to turn around in it. Even though we have these obstacles, we manage to have fun each night.

Now I know she does like to play, because when she first came here, at first she would just watch me and Henry play fetch and she would whine to play. Now she wants to play, and her little stub tail wags like crazy. The only problem is that instead of chasing the ball and fetching it, she thinks she is supposed to chase Henry and fetch him. She has absolutely no interest in the ball. She hasn't actually tried to fetch him, but she jumps around in confusion trying to figure out how to grab him and bring him to me without hurting him. Poor Henry is totally oblivious to the fact that she thinks he is her ball, all he cares about is fetching the ball. It is a work in progress in teaching her how to play, we just have to figure out how to teach her that it's the ball and not Henry she is supposed to fetch. 

Tonight I had a craving for Chili, and since the only meat we had in the house was hamburger I thought why not? I looked high and low for a packet of Chili mix, but we didn't have any so off to the internet to find a recipe for the mix. Boy oh boy did I strike gold! This stuff was amazing, plus I had all the ingredients so that's a bonus! Since owning a restaurant on DH's Reservation we make Chili a bit different now. We add elbow macaroni noodles in it. It helps make a bigger batch for just a 
couple of pennies, and is more filling.  So without further adieu I bring you...

Rez Chili   serves: 6-10, in other words...BIG ole batch!

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger browned and grease  drained
1 small onion chopped
3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
2 15oz. cans tomato sauce
1 10oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 15.5oz. can of light red kidney beans
2 c. water, or to the consistency you want
1/4 c. or to your taste chili mix*


Directions:
1)Cook the elbow macaroni noodles per box instructions, and set aside
2)In a large pot brown hamburger and chopped onions; drain grease
3)Add all ingredients into the large pot along with the noodles.
4)Bring to a boil, turn heat down cover and simmer for 30+ minutes. The longer you let simmer the better the flavors mix. I only simmered for 30 minutes since it was already past dinner time. 
5)Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream if desired.


This is in no way something I came up with, so I am due no credit to this great recipe. Click on the link to see the original recipe.


*Chili Mix 


Mix the following together. 
1/4 c. flour
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper (I forgot to add these and it still had quite the kick)
1 tablespoon dry minced onion, or 1 teaspoon powder
1 tablespoon dry minced garlic, or 1 teaspoon powder
2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper


The recipe for this says it makes 6 servings, but I used about half of it for this batch of Chili. Make sure you add the mix a little at a time so you don't go over the top. I started out with 1/8 c. and increased to 1/4 c.


Ha! DH will be so proud of me, I actually wrote down one of my recipes! He gets so mad when I create something and don't write it down for him to make too.