Thanksgiving, how I love thee.

My stove died tuesday, the repair part that came wednesday was only part of the solution. I still need the temperature sensor from the oven replaced, as just the control panel/clock did not solve the problem, I still get the same error code from the stove, but the clock is not making crackling noises now.

So wednesday evening, I am trying to figure out how we will get everything cooked by thanksgiving afternoon. I could have taken everything to a friends house to cook, then carted it back to our house to eat. However, I remembered that Shelli, AKA Pyxiwulf on live journal, told me on facebook tuesday night, that she had an older electric stove in her basement I could have. They had not carted it away yet after replacing all the kitchen appliances. No problem, a call to her and 90 minutes later, we were at her house to pick it up. The stove works well, I'm still getting used to the flat top, as my old electric stove has the coil shaped exposed burners. After 7 hours of cooking Thanksgiving day, we were ready to sit down for dinner with a few friends and our 9 still at home. I did not make enough pies, though I made 10, as they were all gone by Friday afternoon, BOO! Of course, lunch Thanksgiving day was pies, rolls, whatever was already done or forage for leftovers. LOL

It's been a crazy month. #4 we diagnosed with depression and spent some time in the hospital. Also, the repairs, renovations and painting on the house are taking too much time and money. The dishwasher died again and we need to find the receipt so the extended Costco warrantee will cover it. ARGH! At least my house and life are never boring. :)

Our high school

I was surprises when I talked to the guidance counselor this am. She will start a child study and would like me to track down his previous diagnosis, if possible. Otherwise, we may have to take him to the child development center and pay out of pocket, if neither insurance will cover it. But she took me seriously. YAY!

Boys

#5 (13) is driving me crazy.
He does not want to go to school. Eigth grade is in the high school, which is very loud, big and confusing. He was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome a few years ago and does not get along well with other people. He does not pick up facial expressions or body language, which does not help. It says something about last school year that the only day he enjoyed at school was the day he had in school suspension for hitting a kid who had been bothering him all year. He thought it was great to be in a room with only a few other kids and 1 teacher, where he could work on classwork/homework and no one bothered him.

I think a meeting with the school is in order. The middle school last year said that unless the aspergers was affecting his grades, they would not do anything to accomodate him. I have a feeling they will not accept a counselors diagnosis and will insist we take him to be diagnosesd at our own expense. I do not know if our insurance will pay for it. Hubby's company insurance did pay for #2's assessment for autism at Childrens National medical center in DC when she was 4, but we had different insurance then and a DR who knew what to say to the insurance company to get results.

This was an exciting week!

Tuesday, we had a small earthquake. The people who worked in this building on 9-11 when the plane hit we distraught, as the building shook the same way then as it did during the quake. They all self evacuated to the parking lots like we train for. About half of us stayed in the building. Once security determined the building looked safe, we were given the option to go back to the building or leave. Some people left for the day. Hubby said it was gridlock most of the way home. I stayed until my normal time to go home. Why be on the roads unless I have to be?

Hubby was so exhausted I made him call the cardiologist last wednesday (the 24th). We got to her office on the 25th to find out she had sent him a letter asking him to schedule an appointment. According to the 24 hour heart monitor he was on the medicines were not working. He spent the last 3 days in the hospital, as the new medicine she has him on needs to be monitored closely. Too much of the medicine could cause his heart to stop. He is feeling much better today and has some energy. Maybe he will be able to do something when he gets home at night?

The hurrican missed us, we got around an inch of rain and some wind, but nothing like they had near DC. One of my co-workers parked his car a few blocks from his condo, as the parking lot there floods whenever there is a heavy rain. He was soaked when he got home. He was glad he parked where he did, as there was 14 inches of water in the condo parking lot this am.

School starts tomorrow. What exciting things will happen then?

Little boys.

Silly #9! He wants to go to school, now that he sees all the other kids getting their stuff ready. I was going to keep him home another year, as he will not be 5 for another 2 weeks. Usually boys do better as one of the oldest, rather than one of the youngest, children in class. I guess I could talk to the school and see if they have room in the pre K class? Or maybe we should check on local pre-k type programs?

School starts soon.

Summer is almost over and we got nothing done I wanted to finish... Most of the lumber (not all) is on racks I built under the porch crawl space, some clothes are sorted, kids rooms are almost clean. Someday I would like to finish just one thing, just to know it can be done. :)

The summer of the missing or destroyed shoes.

Poor #10! So far this summer , in the lst 6 weeks, I have bought her 5 pairs of shoes. Daddy did not see her first pair of shoes she threw in the tall grass and ran over them with the lawn mower. Her sandals and flip flops the dog chewed up, her second pair of sneakers disappeard for over a week, so I bought her cheap sandals. When I asked her where her sneakers were, she stated the dog ate them. Thankfully, that was not the case. One shoe was in the grass by the sandbox. The other one was in the crawlspace under the kitchen. Both were filthy, but not chewed on. Yay, she still has 1 pair of shoes to wear and sandals!

Summer fun

The heat is not fun, but going out yesterday after the thunder and lightening was over, but it was still sprinkling, was fun. #10 and I went to the garden and I showed her how to pick the peas and eat them raw. We discovered she does not like sweet peas, but thought shelling them was fun. So mommy ate raw peas. What is the point of cooking them, when the kids don't eat them and I like them raw?

Then on to the playground, as it was 82 degrees after the storm, down from 102 before it. The big kids stayed home, wasting time on the pc's or watching tv. I was so surprised to see my friend Kristin there, as they moved to Tennessee several years ago. She said they were visiting in between dropping a child off at camp in PA and going back to get him. It was nice to catch up, as we don't chat as often as we should online. And my godson, her 3rd child, has really grown since I saw him 5 years ago. He must be almost 5 ft tall now and he is 11.

See, going to the playground is a good idea. :)

Husbands!

Why is it that the husband who reminds the kids to pick up the lawn before they mow does not do so himself? He ran over Rosalie's new nikes that she took off while she was playing on the swings and threw in the tall grass... Oh well, at least they were on sale from shoe show, so only $20 down the drain. :P

It's been 6 weeks since I posted?

Wow! Same old stuff, different day. At least the kids get out of school on the 15th. Then I can sleep late every moring, or at least later than 5:30 or 6 am. Maybe I will be really decadent and sleep until 8 am some non work morning.

I'm hoping on de-cluttering the house this summer. We have way too much stuff for our 3 bedroom house. I think I will give away or throw away anything too small for the youngest 2 children and possibly eliminate some toys. Or at least get them all in their proper bins so the kids can find the parts when they want to play with something. It's kind of hard to play with mr potato head when you can only find one body, 3 arms and 2 ears.

2 is such a fun age.

Is it bad that this song is Rosalie's favorite? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC_hF31z130 She sings the "I'm a gummy bear" part and dances. It is amusing to watch her.

#10 is 2?

How did that happen? It's really weird to not have another baby by now, but maybe she will be the last? Ms Rosalie is now 26 pounds, from a birhtweight of 6 pounds, 10 ounces at 6 weeks early. She is a very happy active little girl and thinks she is a big kid. Maybe she will potty train this summer? That would be weird, not changing diapers after 21+ years. :)

Has it really been almost 2 months since I posted? Wow! Live is crazy, as usual. Huuby is having fun driving in for his new job. Previously he took a vanpool. At least his niece lives fairly close to work. If he is too tired to drive home, he can crash on her couch for the night. He tries to get home on time Tuesdays and Thursdays, as I work those nights and we need to get the kids to bed on time. Most of them are night owls, like their mom and dad.

I am so happy spring is here. I hate the dark, depressing days of winter. We have daffodils blooming now, and everything is starting to grow. Which also means our allergies are starting to bother us. I guess I can't have the nice weather without the blooming stuff, so I'll be taking my allergy and asthma medicines and trying not to spend a lot of time outside.

DC snow problems

Hubby left work at 4:30 last night. He got to Vienna VA at 9:30, 15 miles in 5 hours. At least he made it home by 12:45, the last 58 miles were in under 3 hours, yay?

Stress, what stress?

Hubby went in for a physical 10 days ago. On that day his heart rate, pulse, everything were within normal limits. He got sick last weekend with one of the stomach bugs the kids like to bring home from school and share. Wednesday, he was still having problems eating anything, so he went to the doctor. His blood pressure was 180 over 90 (I think I have the bottom number correct, I know he said the top was 180.). The doctor has no idea why the top of his heart is beating twice as fast as it should, he could hear it with the stethescope during the exam. So Hubby is now on blood thinners, with a 2 day stress test scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, and a visit to the Cardiologist the week after. The doctor must have been worried, as he immediately arranged for the tests and cardiologist visit, making other patients wait. Of course, he also said that sometimes, if they stop the heart, when they restart it the beat goes back to normal? Does not sound like fun...

Happy 21st Birthday to my oldest daughter

See my other blog for pictures.

http://mommeeof9.livejournal.com/64811.html

Noisy

For some reason, there are workmen in the conference room across the hall, using saws and other noisy tools. At least it is in the evening. Usually it is so quiet in here I am falling asleep at night.