A Catchall Catch Up

It has been far too long since I have posted. This morning, I took my PPR exam. I think I drove myself nuts on several of the questions, pretty much overthinking them until I was ready to just click on an answer already so I could go home. I finished the 90-question test in about an hour, but made myself mark questions to be reviewed if I had even the slightest doubt as to the correct answer. Then I went back and reviewed the marked questions and made sure I had read each question carefully and selected the best possible answer, sometimes rereading the question four or five times. Generally, this is not how I take tests, but I also sometimes make careless mistakes this way. As there is a lot riding on my score on this test, I felt I owed it to myself and to Jamie to do my best, ergo I took more care.(For those of you not in the know, if I don't get a passing score on the PPR exam, my teaching contract gets revoked. My replacement at my current job has already been hired, so I wouldn't have that job to fall back on, either. Can we say, "Screwedsville?") Oh, and the state won't allow me to retake the test until 60 days have passed - well after the school year has started. Again, big fat mess if it doesn't go well. Do you see why I took more care than usual?

School starts back in session down here Aug. 22. I start in-service training Aug. 9 (provided.... see above). I have already begun getting up at 5:30 every morning in anticipation of my school schedule. Jamie is forced out of bed at 6:30. We follow this schedule on weekends also. The main reason for this is because my neurologist has stated that people who get migraines need to have a schedule and stick to it regardless of holidays or weekends. Since Jamie gets migraines, too, he is being put on a strict schedule, as well. My last day in the school year will be May 26, 2012 (I think), Jamie's last day of school will be after Memorial Day - a fact that has left him none too pleased but tickles me mightily. :-)

We continue to make progress in organizing the house and purging it of outgrown/broken/unneeded stuff. It's amazing how much crap we've accumulated over the years. Of course, we aren't progressing nearly as quickly as I would like us to, but still I guess some progress is better than no progress.

Extreme Couponing?

Over the weekend, I did not do as much as I had planned, because I have this ridiculous tendency to extremely overestimate what one person working on her own can do in a weekend. But I did get one major project done. I cleaned out the closet/pantry type thingie in my breakfast area. When we were painting the house (2 YEARS AGO), this area got cluttered up with accumulated painting stuff and other junk. There is only one shelf in this area, no door and not even a clothes rod. So, a while back (1 YEAR AGO), I bought a metal shelving unit that would fit perfectly in that area with the intentions of putting the unit together and converting this wasted space to a pantry since I have no cupboard space to spare for food. One day this weekend, while Jamie was out with his BB riding bikes and watching movies, I tackled the closet. I was too ashamed of what it looked like before, so I also took no after pics, because you would not have any basis for comparison. But to give you an idea of what a big job this was, it took me four hours of concentrated, work only on this one closet, effort.

For background noise, I had TLC on the TV. TLC just happened to be running a marathon of Extreme Couponing. Oh. My. Stars. These people are nuts! How on earth do they find time to spend 60 hours a week on collecting coupons, organizing coupons, checking online coupon databases, calling in their orders days ahead of their actual shopping trip, etc. etc. etc.? I mean, yes, they got some fabulous bargains on their groceries. But they also dumpster dive to get more coupons? And spend $2,000 a year just on Sunday newspapers? And buy things they DO NOT NEED just because they are cheap? There was a lady on there who has something like 60 bags of diapers - and she does not have a baby! And there's the people who have shelving units all through their houses holding enough food stuffs and personal items to last their families for 5 years and they are still out shopping every week for more? And the people who have 40 boxes of cereal - stuff that will expire long before they can ever eat it all?

I don't understand that type of shopping. HOWEVER, I will admit that some of their ideas are pretty good and I will start adopting some of them WITHIN REASON to feed the bottomless pit my son has become. I absolutely will not be installing extra shelves throughout the house to hold the crap I don't use (already have a lot of that, thank you). But I will use coupons to buy stuff Jamie will eat. Previously, I had avoided coupons and just bought things generic or when they are on sale. But I do think trying to match coupons with sales sounds like a good idea. Of course, there are many products Jamie just can't eat because of his food allergies, but I will do what I can to save money.

So what about you? Are you more in the extreme couponer camp or are you like me, pretty much figure couponing at all can be a time suck you really can't afford? Where do you fit in?

The Strings Saga Continues

Remember a while back when I lamented that Jamie would have to drop Strings/Orchestra for next year so he could take Robotics II, Advanced Android Programming and Webmastery? And then I was actually happy that Robotics II got canceled, because it meant Jamie could take Strings again? Well, all that was before the powers that be decided to add a reading class as required for 8th graders next year. Now, normally I would be all excited  for Jamie to take another reading class. It is important. BUT - now we're right back to Jamie not being able to take orchestra next year. Which means that he'll have to take private violin lessons all year to be deemed "eligible" for orchestra in high school. This is on top of the guitar lessons he wants to take (and I've been able to put off because there's a guitar club at school), enough food to feed an army (he's been eating double lunches at school the last few weeks not to mention how high my grocery bill will be this summer when he's home all day), new/nearly-new clothes and new shoes every three months, his normal medical expenses each month and enough gas to haul him hither and yon. If you are a praying person, please pray that the S.D. actually starts paying his child support. Also pray that other things in the works will come to pass. My kid appears to be a money-eating machine.

On Growing Boys and Knobbly Knees

The other night, Jamie and I were sitting on the couch watching TV. The way he was sitting, I could see his arms from an angle I'd previously not noticed. His arms were skinny little sticks, and his elbows great big knobs in comparison. Then I noticed his legs and knees are the same way. Even with all his medications that kill his appetite, he still eats nearly constantly and obviously it is NOT enough. Oh, my poor child, you have been hit with the same metabolic quirk as your grandmother and uncle. I need to work seriously hard to fatten you up!


(This is a repost of a facebook note I posted today. Thought I'd share with my readers who do not get on fb.)

Bots, Part II (in pictures)

Bots, Part I

The competition did not go well. Several of the kids who came did NOTHING. Some of the kids who came obviously had never done anything to contribute, so I was baffled as to why they were allowed to come. One kid actually kept doing things he was told not to do. A few weeks ago, the school robotics club sponsor announced there would be no program next year.

I've decided that by-golly the kids who have worked hard and have a genuine interest will be back next year. I looked at the rules and community clubs or organizations are allowed to compete so long as they can prove everyone on the team falls within the allowed ages. Furthermore, the teams can be sponsored by an individual or entity in the form of cash or materials. It may be possible for a bot to be built, entry fees for the competition, transportation and hotel rooms can be gotten for less than $1,500. The rules state a club can also can use volunteer consultants, so long as the students themselves do all the work and the consultants merely provide instruction. Therefore, I'm going to lead a community robotics team next year. I have workbenches in my garage, I've found several marine technology websites by credible organizations that offer step-by-step instructions on building the underwater robots, I have several contacts in the petrochemical, technology and hobby fields whom I can ask to sponsor us, I know a few kids on the high school team whom I will ask to serve as consultants, and I will beg and borrow whatever tools necessary to get those kids to compete again next year.

Even if their school does decide to scrape together a program next year, I'm still going to ask the students I have in mind if they would want to do it as a neighborhood club, rather than going with the school. I really think we could do this, and I'm going to ask Jamie's friend's parents if they want to help. Of course, all of this is contingent upon if the rules continue to allow a community club to compete. I'll let you know in November or December when they post the rules if I will be sponsoring a robotics club of my own. Until I know whether or not I'll be allowed to lead a team, I'm not saying anything to Jamie or his friends. I don't want to get their hopes up for no reason.

P.S. I'm too exhausted to try to upload pictures from the competition tonight. Sometime this week after I wrap up my finals I'll post the pics under a post entitled, "Bots, Part II".

P.P.S.S. Because the Robotics II class has officially been canceled for next year, Jamie was put back in orchestra. I'm VERY happy about that!!!!

Happy Birthday, Stinkbumps!

Thirteen years ago today, my life was forever changed with the arrival of my Stinkbumps.  Happy birthday!  And don't worry, I still love you, even if you are a rotten teenager now!

Morgan's Wonderland

On Saturday, I took Jamie to Morgan's Wonderland.  It's a beautiful place with a beautiful message.  Rather than rambling on and on about how much fun we had, and how glorious it was to spend the day playing in such a wonderful, inclusive environment, I'll let the pictures speak for me.

Etsy, You Let Me Down

Up to this point in his life, Jamie has been surrounded by people who already know (through my constant nagging....erm, "reminding") that he has some life-threatening health concerns - namely, his food allergy to peanuts and his asthma.  This has meant that, although I know it is important, I haven't gotten around to buying him a medical alert bracelet or anything else that identifies emergency personnel to the fact that he has health issues.

Quite frankly, this is extremely stupid of me, I know.  I also know that most USB medical bracelets are either too big, or too expensive.  (Except, today I found one for less than $20 on Walgreens (dot) com.  I'll be going there shortly to order it!)  But I don't think just the medic alert bracelet is enough.  I want something else to help alert emergency personnel that they should be looking for a medical bracelet and that they should look for his life-saving medications on him.  But something like that was non-existent, at least, specific to what I wanted and what I wanted it to say.  Until now.  Today, I found on Etsy some professional looking patches and buttons, for less than $5, that say "I have asthma, inhaler inside" and "Fatal allergy to peanuts, EpiPen inside".  These would be PERFECT to put on his little EpiPen bag/Inhaler holder he carries everywhere he goes.  They're big, bright, noticeable, and have the medical alert symbol on them.

Only one problem.  Every time I go to order the dang things, Etsy's server crashes and I can't get back on.  Finally, I get back on, and then it crashes again.  Oh, Etsy, the first time I've tried to use you, for something as important as this, and YOU. LET. ME. DOWN!

Bragging on My Kid

I'd like to take a moment here to brag on my kiddo.  I know I do this fairly often, but hey, I'm a momblogger, it's kind of what I do.

Last Friday, my boy got three - count 'em, THREE - awards for the first nine weeks of school.  The first was for making the A/B honor roll (six A's and two B's.  Not too shabby!).  The second and third awards blew me away, because I had no stinkin' idea just how well my kid was doing in some of his classes!

The second award was for having the highest average in his history class - OUT OF AT LEAST 120 STUDENTS! (Six class periods with approximately 20 kids in each class period = roughly 120 students.)  Out of all the classes and all the students, Jamie had the highest average grade.  Rock on, Jamie!

The third award should not have been a surprise to me, considering Jamie's gene pool (and heck, even his family name).  He got the Outstanding Technology Award for his computer graphics class.  Apparently, Jamie figured out how to do an effect on the computer in a certain graphics/animation program that even the teacher didn't know could be done.  I feel like Spike in the old Tom and Jerry cartoons talking about his pup - "That's my boy!" (in Spike's raspy voice, of course).

To celebrate, Jamie, his friends W and B, and I went and saw Megamind in 3D.  I hadn't taken him and his friends out to the movies in a while, and I really wanted Jamie to get a big reward for all his hard work this nine weeks.  We had a lot of fun, and the movie was great.  If you haven't seen it yet, you should go.  Now.  See. It.

Not That I'm Complaining, But....

... What in the world has gotten into my kid?  He was recently moved from English to Pre-AP English, and now his science teacher is suggesting he should be in Pre-AP Science next year (they don't offer it in 7th grade) and on the field trip last week, Jamie's social studies teacher stopped by to tell me what a joy Jamie is to have in class and how Jamie is leaps and bounds ahead of most of the other students.  As he was leaving, he said, "Oh, by the way, you should really consider having him in Pre-AP History next year."

So, I called Jamie's school and talked to the counselor's office about all this.  Based on feedback they've gotten from teachers and things they've noticed, as well as the fact that the last time Jamie was tested he was in elementary and was not yet on medication for his later-diagnosed ADHD, they are recommending Jamie be retested for G/T.  They also said that since I was a G/T kid, there's a strong tendency for my kid(s) to be G/T, as well.

I want him to be tested again for many reasons.  Not because my over-achieving self feels I have to have a little Mini Me, but because of many things I've been noticing lately, and because Jamie reminds me so much of my brother.  Jamie and I made the decision together to lower his ADHD medication dosage.  He is getting to the age when many kids are able to be weaned off their medication.  Also, he's been commenting on how he hates "feeling like a zombie" on days when he takes his meds.  So, we told the doc we wanted a lower dosage.  Not too long after that, Jamie's grades went up even higher and his spelling and writing grammar/mechanics improved, as well.  His teachers are commenting on how he's even more involved in class than ever before.  I don't know if it's because the meds aren't chaining his brain down as much or if he's just more interested in the material this year.  Maybe it's a combination of both.  (If his meds have been holding him back while making him behave, well.... I'll spare you the post about the guilt I'm feeling, but know it's DEFINITELY there.  I also recently read an article about how some G/T kids are getting misdiagnosed with ADHD because of similarities in behavior issues when they are very young.  Oh, yeah, there's a LOT of guilt stewing in my heart and brain right now, and it will only get worse if I find out he does qualify for the G/T program!) 

I also want him tested because he is so much like my brother that it's like looking 20-some years in the past.  I remember always being confused as to why my brother, who is sooooo much smarter than I am (seriously, scarily smart), was never in G/T.  I found out later it had a lot to do with school politics in the little town we lived in back in Oklahoma, and the fact that when we moved to Kentucky they wouldn't retest him because they claimed he was "too old to start the G/T program now."  Naturally, he got bored in class and didn't pay attention, and wouldn't do his homework because it was boring... So the school completely let him down by putting him in just basic classes - all the while he was coming home at night from school and studying astronomy and quantum physics and other subjects on his own "just for fun." 

Jamie is the same way.  He got a gift subscription to an astronomy magazine from his Big Brother Bill.  Jamie pores over each issue and tells me stuff I've never even heard of, then goes on the Internet to learn more - just because.  Jamie and I love to watch science-y stuff like Mythbusters, etc.; but Jamie also loves to watch programs on the Science Channel, the Smithsonian Channel and other obscure geekcentric stations - stuff about black holes, supernovas, ancient Egypt, meteorites, and whatever else tickles his nerdtastic fancy.  He also loves to watch the NASA channel - not just for the videos from outer space, but the detailed interviews about diagnostics and design and the history of rocketry.  While I like to consider myself intelligent, some of this stuff is way over my head and Jamie just eats it up.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm not trying to say Jamie is the next coming of Einstein - he's not.  Unfortunately, he is starting to show his mother's distaste for all things mathematical.  He still won't sit still for very long to read a book unless he has to - he'd rather be up moving around and doing than sitting still for any reason.  (Even when he's on the computer, he's always moving.)  He also sometimes does things that make me wonder if his common sense flew out of his ear and took a vacation.  He is not, by any means, a genius in all subjects.  But there are some things, some pretty amazing things, about this kiddo that just blow me away.

Sloth Punkin'

This is the pumpkin Jamie carved yesterday with no assistance whatsoever from me.  I think it's cute.  I kept thinking "Gee, it reminds me of someone" but I couldn't figure out who, until it came to me today.  It kind of looks like Sloth from "Goonies".  Don'cha think?

I see a distinct resemblance, don't you?

More funny pictures for your amusement:

Jamie and his friend William model aviator hats at that mart with the walls.

Jamie just *had* to have this hat to wear to the corn maze.

And......

Pictures from this past weekend's robotics competition:



Tales Out of School

For those of you wondering, I had a FANTASTIC time on Monday during my student observations.  In the morning, I sat with Jamie's reading teacher from last year.  I even got to help out with reading aloud when her voice got tired.  The school cannot afford to buy enough copies of books their reading to send a copy home with each student, so the books have to be shared and read during class time.  Sometimes, Mrs. B reads chapters aloud, then stops at key points to ask students to make predictions, observations or connections to what they have read.  Monday was a read-aloud day.  It was great to hear the kids' opinions and predictions!

When it was time for Mrs. B's planning/advising/break, I went to Jamie's current English teacher, Mrs. F.  Jamie had already had his class with Mrs. F by this time, so there was no conflict with my sitting with her class.  They were working on writing an essay on the themes in Langston Hughes' "Thank You, M'am".  Lunch period was also during the time when I was with her class, so I got to sit and eat lunch outside in the courtyard with Jamie and his friends Spencer, Brandt, Maxwell and J.W. (I think?). The kid whose name I am not quite sure of looks a scarily-similar to Jamie - nearly the same color eyes, hair is nearly the same color, freckles like mad, and only a teensy bit taller.  It was very strange to see the two of them sitting side-by-side.  But, it was good getting to eat lunch with all "my kids" - well, except for our friend William.  William purposely hid when he saw me in the cafeteria; he said he was afraid I'd do something to embarrass him.  Who, me?

After lunch, Mrs. F and I got a chance to chat during the last few minutes of class.  She told me that Jamie wasn't being challenged enough by her regular English class, and wanted me to get the counselors to move him to her Pre-AP English class.  Considering Jamie has a 100 average in the class, I agreed he must not be challenged enough, and went straight to see the counselor.  His schedule will be rearranged today, and he'll start Pre-AP English tomorrow.  He's excited, and so am I.  When I got back, Mrs. F and I swapped lists of "must-read" books.  We both like YA fantasy literature.  I've been invited to come back to her class any time I want.  I definitely will be back next time I do observations!

Lastly, I went back to Mrs. B's class to observe her Advanced 6th grade reading class.  I was not impressed at all with some of the students in this class!  They were in the midst of group projects, so they were rowdy.  On top of that, they were disrespectful to each other and the teacher.  Also, their responses to Mrs. B's questions on their group projects did not show nearly the critical thinking skills that were observed in the so-called regular classes.  But it was good to see how she kept the kids on task and from being too loud when working in their groups.

When the day was over, I was sad to realize I wouldn't be back again for several weeks for more observation.  I had a lot of fun and learned a lot from the teachers.  I cannot wait for next time!

Misc.

Nothing earth-shattering to report. Life is just cruising on by, which I guess is a good thing. In no particular order, here's what's going on in our world:

• Jamie is settling into the groove of school. He's excited about some of his classes (Forensic Science, Robotics, Computer Programming, Science, Orchestra) and in despair over others (PE), but overall he seems pretty happy with things as they are. Of course, as moody as he is here lately (ah, don't you just love puberty!?!) he could change his mind any second. Then change it back again.
• He has finally grown enough to start playing a full-sized violin, so we went to the violin shop last week and traded in his 3/4 size rental for a higher-quality 4/4 size rental. Its name is Alfred (he named the last one Vio, as in VIO-lin). The good thing about this shop is that 100% of the monthly rental fee is applied to the cost of the violin. Jamie seems to want to stick with it, so I may purchase it outright in the spring. I've paid off so many other bills right now that I can't swing it until spring. But at least bills are getting paid off. YAY!
• I'm scheduled to take my English 4-8 content exam Oct. 16. I could have taken it sooner, but the only other Saturday test date was this coming weekend - Labor Day weekend. I just wasn't willing to give up part of my holiday weekend (and spending some quality time with Jamie) to go sit in a room and take a three-hour or whatever test. (I may have already told you this. If I did, sorry for repeating myself.)
• I had a moment of panic over the weekend. I was looking at the course schedule for one of my classes and thought I had homework due today. Turns out, I read it wrong and it's due NEXT Monday. Whew!
• Jamie was a little disappointed over the weekend. He and his BB were supposed to go to Austin Saturday and explore the UT-Austin campus and do a lot of walking around. Unfortunately, it was an air quality alert day over much of Texas, so he wasn't supposed to be outside. They compromised and went to see a movie instead.
• I got the half of the study that houses the computer and our school supplies cleaned up and organized (somewhat). The room isn't perfect (don't ask what the other half of the room looks like!!!), but at least we can get to the computer and do some work without tripping over a bunch of stuff or rolling over it with the chair.
• Eight months after I graduated, I finally hung my degree up. It hangs on the wall over my computer monitor. This way, when I start feeling stressed or discouraged about the grad school workload, I can look at it and remind myself that I was stressed and discouraged about my undergrad program, but I stuck to it and finished it!

Well, that's about all I have to report from the Lone Star State. I hope it continues to be quiet and uneventful!

First Day of School - 7th Grade!!!

First day of school. He's a 7th grader now. When did that happen?

RIP Sanyo 26" LCD HDTV

This is what my TV looks like after Jamie decided to play balloon baseball in the house yesterday. He was using the long vacuum cleaner attachment as a bat. His hands sweat a lot. Plastic is slippery when sweaty hands hold it. Plastic vacuum cleaner attachments don't have enough heft to break through the TV screen, but they have enough to destroy the LCD display. So, when we watch TV, we can only see through the left side of the screen. I did not kill Jamie, because he felt bad enough about it already. But he is being punished. I took away his computer privileges, his Nintendo DS, and the money I was going to pay him for cleaning the house all summer. He also has had extra chores added. This goes toward the cost of replacing the TV.

Oh, and don't tell him I said this, but I'm finding this a little amusing today. And actually, this gives me an excuse to buy the Internet-ready TV I was wanting to put in the living room anyway (so I can stream Netflix into the living room, too, and in HD, to boot). I would have had to buy a Roku HD player to do that. And for the record, I did call to see if it would be possible to repair the screen of the current TV, only to be told that the screens now cost more than it would to just buy a new TV. I also called my insurance company, only to be told that the loss isn't covered by my current policy.

I think another thing contributing to my having gotten over my anger so quickly is the fact that this TV cost me nothing. It was Dad's. He bought it a couple of months before he got sick and went into the hospital. I brought it home with me when it became obvious that Dad would never get to leave the hospital alive. I felt it was better to bring the TV home than to have it be a temptation for someone to break in and steal it. Also, this wasn't one of the best quality TVs in the world, and I was already thinking of how to replace it (with an aforementioned Internet-ready TV), so really, Jamie just expedited what I was already planning on doing. Although I was going to wait until Christmas time to buy us a family present, this just means I'm doing it now, and that that is one less present we'll have at Christmas.

Although, if I do go ahead and buy a new TV, I'll stick this one in the closet of the study, in case replacement screen prices come down later. This TV is also usable as a PC monitor, so I would like to be able to put this in the study to use on the computer and for guests to use to watch TV (if we ever have any overnight guests). And if that new TV does appear, I think I'll buy a wall mount for it, as well. I'm thinking it would be smart if I have the TV up out of the path of danger. After all, those vacuum cleaner attachments make for a wicked bat, and Jamie's remorse will only last so long.

The Spazmanian Devil

Jamie has a new nickname. I was telling my brother the story I'm about to share with you. He waited a beat and said something to the effect of, "Did you ever think your son is a bit of a spaz?" To which I emphatically replied, "YES!" So I've been calling Jamie "The Spazmanian Devil" here lately because of the way he trips, fumbles and jerks his way through life here lately.

"What prompted this?" you ask. The short answer is: Jamie's pizza cracked his wrist. He told his Big Brother that he was attacked by a pizza. The long answer is a bit more complicated.

Jamie has ADHD. It seems to get progressively worse each year. He isn't particularly hyperactive, but he is more and more twitchy, inattentive, impulsive and (at times) annoying as time goes on. This is particularly true in the summer months and on school holidays, because I don't like the side effects of his medication, so I won't give it to him if there's no school. But I've discussed that before, so I won't bore you with it again.

Anyway, the night of Monday, July 26, I splurged (after a trip to Half Price Books to unload several unwanted DVDs and books) on a trip to Pizza Hut for me and Jamie. Jamie would not sit still in the booth, fidgeting, squirming, twitching and such in his eagerness for the food to come. While doing so, he somehow got one of his sandals hooked up underneath the booth - but didn't realize it until the pizza came to the table. When it finally arrived, Jamie tried to jump up to get to the pizza and serve himself before I could. Unfortunately, with his shoe hooked up under the booth, all he wound up doing was launching himself up out of the booth on onto the floor - HARD!
As just about any kid would do, he instinctively threw his left hand out to try to catch himself. But he landed on it at a funny angle and - at that moment - I heard a little popping noise (we were the only ones in the restaurant). As Jamie was trying to get up, he put weight on his left hand and immediately said "OW!" and cradled his hand/wrist to his chest. He finally got back up in the booth and said "My wrist hurts!" Thinking he was probably just exaggerating, I went to the manager to ask for a bag of ice. I put it on his wrist and we commenced eating. (Note: I didn't immediately rush him to the ER for several reasons: 1) He's at a klutzy stage and hurts himself. all. the. time. If I rushed him to the doctor every time he fell down, I'd be drowning in medical bills. 2) It was storming really bad outside - as in the rain was falling sideways. 3) We were both very very hungry and I wasn't about to leave until we had eaten our fill. Do you know how long an ER wait can be?)

After we finished eating, I took the ice off his wrist to see how it was doing. It was 1/3 again the size of his right wrist. I had Jamie try to move his hand around and rotate it on his wrist, and he said "ow! ow! OWWWW!" Hmmm, okay, we were off to the ER.

Luckily, it was a fairly slow night at the children's ER and we were fortunate that they had an orthopedic specialist there already attending to another child who had hurt a bone. We got in fairly quickly (30 minute wait), had Jamie's vitals done and were in a room not too long after that. The ortho came and looked at his wrist, ordered X-rays, gave ibuprofen, etc., then said she'd be back after the X-rays were developed to see what was what.

Two Hannah Montana episodes later, the doc came back and said the X-rays were inconclusive. The area of his wrist that is hurt (she explained) is a low-blood flow area and is really hard to tell on an x-ray if it's cracked. Also, the swelling was making it harder to tell because the swelling could actually be holding a crack together so you can't see it on an X-ray. When she tried to manipulate his wrist, he was nearly in tears. Since she couldn't tell if it was a sprain or a possible hairline crack, she decided it was best to err on the side of caution and left orders for his wrist to be put in a plaster splint/half-cast type deal. A nurse came in an wrapped his hand, wrist and arm in cotton, then they put a strip of plaster around his thumb, encased half his wrist and up his arm on the side where Jamie had pain. Then the whole thing was wrapped in Ace bandages nearly up to his elbow. He was instructed not to get it wet and not to take it off, and to follow up with his pediatrician in one week.

This past Monday, we had a follow-up appointment with his pediatrician. He unwrapped it, took one look at it (still swollen, bruised and a bit misshapen) and said, "Go see an orthopedist." Originally, the orthopedist wouldn't be able to see Jamie until the 16th; however, a last minute cancellation got us in yesterday - with 45 minutes between when I was called and we had to be there.

We saw the orthopedist, and he examined Jamie - only to find out we STILL don't know if it's broken or not. We were sent to have Jamie fitted for a custom steel brace to immobilize his wrist (at least he can take it off to shower, but has to put it right back on afterwards), and told to go back to the orthopedist next Thursday, after getting new X-rays of the wrist on next Wednesday. At this point, I just want someone to tell me what's wrong with it, why it's still hurting him, and how long it will take for the swelling to go down and his wrist to be back to normal. But it seems that's beyond anyone's capabilities. In the meantime, he can't use it, can't play his violin, can't go swimming, can't go on rollercoasters, ride his bike or scooter (verboten so he doesn't fall and injure it worse), etc., etc. This is making for one lousy end of summer for a certain boy.

I guess that's what he gets for being a Spazmanian Devil. ;-)

My Baby's Gone

Jamie left for camp this afternoon. He wasn't allowed to take his cell phone, so he can't text or e-mail me 5 million times a day. My phone has been silent all afternoon. I'm sure the house will seem eerily silent when I get home. I may have to turn the TV on to cartoons to make it feel like he's home. I haven't had an anxiety attack yet, but I've got the Xanax on standby, just in case. Meanwhile, I have a room to clean, dishes to do, and dogs to take care of. Thursday can't get here soon enough...... I kind of liked making Jamie do the dishes. ;-)

When Your Mini Storm Trooper Is Exhausted...

It is better to let him sleep, lest he blast you with his laser pistol.

500th Post and Miscellany

This is my 500th post. I can't believe I've kept the blog up long enough to have a 500th post, much less that I'd have people still reading (yes, you are few, but loyal!). Thanks so much to everyone for sticking with me this long.

Yesterday, I did something that may be stupid. See, we live only about an hour or so away from Austin. Austin is the site of quite a few movie shoots, including the upcoming "Spy Kids 4: Armageddon." Jamie loves the movies, and I have to admit, I do, too. They're funny, wacky, clean entertainment. There's stuff in there that's funny to kids and adults. Best of all, I don't find them insulting to anyone's intelligence. Sure, they stretch the realms of possibility, but that's a big part of the fun. So when Jamie found out that they are casting for lead roles and extras for this movie (film shooting to be this summer) and are specifically looking for unknowns (there was a commercial and an article in the paper), he asked me to send them his photo and info. Yesterday, I did. I sent his photo (an 8x10 glossy of the photo in the previous post) and info to two different casting agencies associated with SK4, one in L.A. and one in Austin. These are reputable companies. I did my research on them. Now, nothing may come of this. I understand that and am fine with that possibility. I am not trying to be a "stage mother" and live my acting dreams through my kid. But since we live so close, I thought this might be a good way to add to Jamie's (nearly non-existent) college savings. Even if this particular movie doesn't pan out, there are others. Even if no movie ever wants him, there are TV commercials and print ads done in Austin all the time. And, if no one wants him for anything, that's just fine and dandy, too. It's neat just to send in the info and see what comes of it. Probably nothing, but that's okay.

In other news, more stress. I was able to successfully appeal to the state about Jamie's CHIP coverage. BUT - due to a weirdo rule - he is currently not going to have insurance for the month of June. If he has no insurance, he can't go to camp. If he has no insurance and he has a major asthma attack or ingests something he's allergic to, we're up a crap creek. I've put in an appeal request, but I won't know anything until June 10. Pray, send good karma my way, whatever you do, please do it. We need it. We also have some other financial stuff going on and would appreciate prayers, etc., on that, too.

Thank you all for sticking with me through 500 posts. Here's to 500 more!