"Murphy was an optimist!"
A New Day! Let’s start the day off with a PayPa… February 26, 2004 8:58 am
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeA New Day!
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This Morning
Woke at 5am. No snow on the ground.
Woke at 6am. News says schools are cancelled.
Woke at 7:30am. Light dusting. Ground can still be seen through the snow. Looks like someone lightly sprinkled powdered sugar on the ground. I get frustrated with myself because at this point I could have put in 2.5 hours of work. Now it will be another 1.5 hours before the wife gets up and I won’t be able to do anything.
8:02am. Weather warning for heavy snow between now and 4pm. Prediction 3-6 inches. Earlier it was mixed with rain and barely visible in the air. Now it’s coming down much stronger. Looks like a Christmas card in the air.
Last Night
Went to the Jeff Foxworthy show as a Red Cross volunteer. No incidents so we got to enjoy the show. My favorite part was listening to Foxworthy talk about the stupid things our generation was allowed to do versus the rules imposed on our kids today; things like running wild in a car versus carseats and seatbelts. Had more affirmation that lawyers are destroying our society. Had more affirmation that our society needs to move to socialized medicine as I talked to an elderly man whose health insurance costs were rising while his pension was lessening.
Phone rang. IM beep. And in-laws walked in the doo… February 25, 2004 5:51 pm
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifePhone rang. IM beep. And in-laws walked in the door. Nothing to get done before the show.
add a commentt-minus 45 minutes February 25, 2004 5:42 pm
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeI can’t get any programming done today. I can get in my chair and bring myself to be focused long enough to knock out this 1 silly piece of work. Probably 1 solid hour is all it would take but my mind is racing with “review first aid materials” (don’t want to look like a moron tonight), “clean floors,” (mother in law babysitting kids here) “chop wood” (they are now saying we are getting 4-8 inches of snow tonight–the kids are in shorts right now!), “get upstairs and check on the 10 yr old watching the 21 mth old,” (house really needs cameras all over the place), “oh, the 13 yr old should be checked on,” (he’s got strep) “I need a bath,” (not gonna happen) “everything needs to be done in 45 minutes” (ugh!).
add a commentReturned from Doctor’s office February 25, 2004 3:59 pm
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeReturned from Doctor’s office
add a commentTook Tommy to doctor’s office. February 25, 2004 1:30 pm
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeTook Tommy to doctor’s office.
add a commentPicked Tommy up from school due to sickness. February 25, 2004 11:50 am
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifePicked Tommy up from school due to sickness.
add a commentWent to Red Cross to buy shirt for volunteering at… February 25, 2004 11:30 am
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeWent to Red Cross to buy shirt for volunteering at the Jeff Foxworthy show tonight.
add a commentAmy loves the outdoors. To help her calm down, we … February 25, 2004 9:06 am
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeAmy loves the outdoors. To help her calm down, we just stepped outside and she identified birds, looked at a dead mouse, laughed heartily when the wind blew in her face and tussled her hair. I never put her down because our yard is in such a horrid state. I hope this spring that I can do several thousand dollars in landscaping.
Time – money – materials – ugh. Need them all at the same time!
Amy in a contrary mood this morning. Maybe that’s not right. She wants a specific thing and everything else is going to make her mad. The first challenge was that she wanted her juice not milk. We worked it out through sign and her spoken words combined. She is happy and identified the outdoor cat on her own as “Gray.” (that is the name we have given the outside cat)
add a commentKids carpooled to school. Tommy’s bus called to sa… February 25, 2004 8:52 am
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeKids carpooled to school. Tommy’s bus called to say she is running late and will be here after 8 (arrived 7:45). Tommy on his own worked 4 math problems before I returned on his home work and got another 8 done in a 30 minute time span. He did just under the same amount of work that took him 3 hours last night. Amy awoke screaming. I get her out of the crib and she screams as I carry her, pauses, in perfect calm says “ere’s mama?” to which I reply “nite nite. sleeping” and she bursts into screams again. She’s a manipulative one! She is happy now but not ready for breakfast.
add a commentHaloscan Commenting is down. Perhaps I should writ… February 25, 2004 7:39 am
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeHaloscan Commenting is down. Perhaps I should write my own system.
add a commentDay going to pot quickly. Must keep a positive att… February 25, 2004 7:32 am
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeDay going to pot quickly. Must keep a positive attitude. The baby is screaming now for some reason. I thought the wife was going to join us this morning; I disappointed that she’s not because I enjoy her company but she isn’t a morning person. Screaming seems to have subsided.
add a commentDepressed Children February 25, 2004 7:07 am
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeI hate anyone being sad. I spent half my life tettering between extreme happiness and extreme sadness. Too much effort goes into sadness. Sadness causes lost productivity, missed opportunities, more sadness, loss and other negatives; but always negatives. Even attention received because of sadness is negative attention.
I asked Sarah, “Are you sad?” and she simply frowned and shrugged her shoulders. I asked “why are you sad?” Another shoulder shrug but definitely a frown to make the point. I asked Sarah if she had friends and she said yes. I asked she something was wrong at home (I’d guess “too much screaming” “the baby is in my space” “you are unfair to me”) and even asked if there is too much screaming around here. I said we cannot guess what’s in her head that if she needs something, she has to ask. I said I reserve the right to say “no” but I want her to be happy and I want her to have what she needs. Without lecturing, at least I hope it didn’t come across as lecturing, I encouraged Sarah to talk to myself, her mother, her grandparents, her school counsellor or her therapist.
Sarah does have a therapist in the same office as Tommy’s therapist. We had multiple reasons for getting her some therapy. The main reason in her mind is to have a private outlet to discuss her hatred of Tommy’s. My main reason is because she clams up and keeps so much bottled up inside her; that’s the kind of thing I did growing up and I know the devasting impacts. I also think she has something unsettled in her mind about this guy that periodically calls on the phone and makes her call him daddy.
add a commentA New Day! Let’s start the day off with a PayPa… February 25, 2004 6:40 am
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeA New Day!
Let’s start the day off with a PayPal donation link:
This Morning
Woke at 5am to get Sarah going since she has unfinished homework. I think she is sleeping in the bathroom.
Last Night
Sat up and finished Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan. I will follow with a book review.
Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan is a fantastically inspirational book about a woman that at age 50 seems drawn to Australia and destin to have a walk-a-bout with an aboriginal tribe of loving. spiritual people. Her views, and the readers, are challenged as these simple people discuss concepts such as materialism, the damage the Mutant People are doing to the planet, love, anger and more. The book is posed as fiction but hinted at being non-fiction.
I personally read this book whenever I need to get out of the doldrums. I find it spiritually uplifting. The content also makes me think philosophically upon my own materialism, my outlooks and my habits. The book is short and an easy read. I highly recommend it.
I’m exhausted. I spent the latter part of the afte… February 24, 2004 10:46 pm
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeI’m exhausted. I spent the latter part of the afternoon with Sarah in the doctor’s office. She is so strung out that she has a nasty fever blister and it looks like its spreading to her eye. Unfortunately tomorrow is school pictures. Why is this child so stressed? Does she have too many adult figures in her life she is trying to please? 2 Grandparents, 2 parents, and 1 biological father. Are we too critical of her? Is she asking for things and not getting them because we aren’t listening or think we are hearing one thing when she is actually saying another?
I wish I could describe the looks she gives. She has reached that mature age of 10 where she is certain that her parents are retarded (and I choose that word intentionally) and she has all the answers. Whatever you do, please don’t try to reason with her or contradict her even if she is wrong because you are going to catch Valley Girl attitude (that should have been with a capital A).
Got home expecting a battle with Tommy over his math homework so I approached it very calmly and sedately with book in hand so I could read while he screamed. I was determined to not let his noises and attempts to rile get to me; unfortunately, I forgot about everyone else. The tired baby started feeding off of him, the mother with migraine turned up the television to drown him out (noise and chaos bad for an aspie – new term for me learned recently), the brother in his normal oblivious cloud took no notice, and the sister that just wouldn’t hurry up and get to bed (I almost detected some competition for attention briefly) helped proliferate the chaos which ended with Tommy receiving a “get your act together” slap in the face. We avoid such treatment at all possible costs but Tommy had left reality and was starting to spiral out of control. He came back to reality albeit with many tears. He and I moved to a more controlled location in the basement and he screamed, cried, insulted, said hurtful things, masterbated, pretended to fall asleep, complained and did about everything he could think of to try to upset me. I calmed sat there reminding him to use an inside voice and to work on his school work. Eventually I got smart and gave him a choice. Tommy likes choices even if they are both not in his favor. He quieted down, calmed down, quickly did his homework with ease (some guidance from me) and then went to bed.
add a commentTaking Sarah to doctor February 24, 2004 5:07 pm
Posted by djuggler in : Daily LifeTaking Sarah to doctor
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