Dragonflies!!

About a month ago as Alexis and I were leaving the house, I opened the door to find this amazing dragonfly that landed on my screen door. For those who know me, I love dragonfllies and I actually want a tattoo of one with my daughter's name and birthdate on it. They arent the best quality pics of this amazing flying creature, but you get it. I know that dragonflies mean different things in the culture which you believe. But I believe they mean maturity, change, and good luck. But those are just a few.

First day of school

So Alexis has started middle school and seems to like it. Except for the dreaded lock on her locker which she has a rough time getting it open, she has adapted very well. I, on the other hand, just seem to be getting more irritated and annoyed with each passing day.

Alexis brought home a note stating that every 6th grade homeroom class would be going camping starting on the 14th and ended the next week, with each class going for 3 days. She brought this home on Thursday and tells me her class is scheduled to go the 14th-16th and that it would cost $60. Now, being a single parent, I was really annoyed that they didnt let us know about this ahead of time, like...maybe at the BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. And then she also needed to bring a dozen snacks to share with her other classmates. So here I am working my 40 hours a week, being tired and my feet aching from standing 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The letter stated I could pay the $60 now, break it up into payments or donate some to the school to help another student. Well, it never said anything about writing a check or paying cash, etc etc. So after working 11:30-8:30 on Sunday, coming home to pick Alexis up to buy snacks and wash and dry clothes, I finally made it to bed around 4am. Alexis wakes me up at 7 and we grab all of her stuff and haul it to the school and into the office where I ask them if its okay if I write a check, which I then proceeded to write and hand it over to my 11-year-old daughter. Then her and I walk her stuff to her science room, leave everything there and head back to the office, where her and I were reprimanded for walking in the building before school. Now this teacher got me even MORE irritated. Do I really look like I am in middle school???? I looked at this teacher and told her we were dropping her stuff off for camping and the teacher said "oh" and with no apology walked back into her room. HOW FREAKING RUDE!!!!!! As I hug Alexis goodbye and tell her I will see her on Wednesday she heads off with Sadie and I walk myself BACK into the office and proceed to ask the secretaries if this is how middle school is with being notified 3 days in advance of trips, need money, etc etc. I then asked about picture day which is THIS Friday and she tells me that the packets are going home today!! Well, my daughter isnt come home today, so that wont work, so I took one of their packets home with me. Seriously, this is ridiculous. Many of you also know that Lakes Middle School is now Lakes Magnet School and that the kids have to wear shirts with logos on them. I got a few shirts free from the monogram company, washed them a few times and now the logos are coming off! CHEAP! Bringing them right back to have them redo them.

What else is going on with Alexis and myself?!?! I am working at Home Depot full time, and pretty soon will be getting health and dental benefits finally. Too bad I didnt have them back in May. Oh well! I requested information from the University of Phoenix and I hope to hear from them soon. Working at this low wage job is not cutting it for me.

Anyway, I will post more later.

My beautiful baby girl on her first day of school.

short post

I figured I needed to update my blog because I havent in quite awhile. Not much going on over here. I have been off work for a month now and will be going back hopefully next week. I am a little poor here.

Alexis survived the 5th grade (I knew she would!) and will be moving on to middle school. Yikes! So much drama in the 5th grade, can't imagine what it will be like in a few months. One good thing is that the middle school over here (one of them anyway) is turning into a magnate school, which will teach these kids the basics, but also science, health and art. Alexis has a list of classes she will be able to take such as...Anatomy and Psysiology (yuck), scrapbooking, photography, STOMP, CPR training (love), and others that will change every 9 weeks. All of the kid also have to wear polo shirts with the school emblems that will cut out all the "what shirt can I wear today" drama. Because really, some of these middle schoolers today disgust me with their little belly shirts. Some of these shirts not be allowed at school, and now they arent. The students get 9 different colors to choose from, but we, the parents, have to have them sewn on. So polos and sweatshirts for the Fall. I also got Alexis a cell phone. Her dad actually purchased the phone for her. I was shocked! And I get to pay the bill each month. Yayy! But its $40.00 a month for unlimited texting and minutes. And believe me, this girl can talk....or text.

What else is going on... I'm thinking about trading my truck in for a car. I am tired of not having a backseat so that when I am watching my niece and nephew, I can actually take them places and take them safely. But, I guess it will have to wait awhile.

I've taken lots of pictures in the last few months and can probably put them into a few new posts. So give me a few days....

2-in-1 Surgery for Me!!

This week I had Tuesday and Wednesday off and then I was scheduled at work for a 9 day stretch. I wasn't looking forward to that. Wednesday started out like any other day. Woke up around 10 the 2nd time that morning and took a shower, got dressed, brushed my teeth and thankfully washed my hair. I had to run to the bank to deposit a check, I then went to Home Depot to get a few things, and then to Big Lots because its actually an awesome store. I had to get some plant food for the plants. When I went into Home Depot I talked to one of the head cashiers, Paulette, about having to work 9 days straight and how I wasn't happy with that. Did I mention I work there? She said she had to work the next 7 days and sometimes they do that to you. She then mentioned I might be able to go home early on Saturday or Sunday. Yeah! So, I left and did a few more things around town and went home. I picked Alexis up from school at 3:30 and I felt great. I had put a pot roast, with onions, potatoes, carrots and seasoning into the crock pot around noon and it smelled sooooo good. My mouth watered!

Around 5:30 as I was dishing out our dinner, my stomach started to hurt so bad. Now for those who know me, and this might be a little but too much information, I have IBS, which is Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This is where you get terrible stomach cramps, etc etc. A few of my family members have it, but I wont mention their names. I have had it for over 10 years. This pain was NOTHING like IBS pain. I finished eating and felt like I had eaten too much food. You know how it goes? So, I unbuttoned my jeans thinking that might help. I took a bath, because that usually helps with the IBS and still nothing. It hurt to even move. The sharp stabbing pains were right above my belly button and it was moving to the lower right side, but very slowly. Alexis was worried about me, and at some point joked around with me because she is used to my tummy aches/cramps all the time. I told her this was different. I also thought it might be either food poisoning from a Burger King whopper I ate earlier or maybe gas. I decided to wait a few hours to see if I still had the symptoms. Alexis wanted me to take her Baskin Robbins for .31 cent scoops of ice cream. I considered taking her, but I thought I was just "full" from dinner. Alexis still wanted me take her and I told her no because of the tummy pains. I called my mom (like I always do!) and asked for her advice. She, of course, told me to go in. Alexis and I even googled appendicitis and yep, its located on the right side, and not the left like many people think it is. I told Alexis before she went to bed, that if she woke up, and I wasn't home, I would be at the hospital. She was okay with that. After taking my temperature over and over again, the last temp I took was at 11:00 pm and it was 99.1 Normally my temperature is at 98.6 and/or lower, so I knew something was going on.

So I went to the ER and arrived at 11:15 pm. Because I was the only one in the ER at that time I got right in. I had a few nurses and nursing students come in and ask questions. I had my blood taken and had 4 x-rays done on my chest and abdomen. I then sat there and sat there some more and some more. They told me over and over again that because they weren't busy that it wouldn't take too long for the results. The nurses there checked on me twice. Luckily I didn't die right there because they would never have known. Sorry, being a little sarcastic there. I mean, seriously, if you DON'T like your job, then find one you do like. OK, I got off track. One of the nurses came in around 1:45 am and noticed that I was in a little bit of pain and asked me if I needed some pain medicine, I agreed. I was laying on the hospital bed on my side, rocking back and forth. She said it would be a few minutes because they would now have to start an IV. They should have done this when they took my blood. Oh well. At this point, I asked them to call my twin sister, Melissa, who is a registered nurse up in labor and delivery and I knew she was working. After a phone call and a "she is down in the cafeteria on lunch" and my reply was "can you let her know her sister, Alicia, is down in the ER?" Approximately 5 minutes later, Mel, was down there in the room with me. At the same time, a hot nurse Justin and a nursing student were in the room trying to figure out where to put my IV since my veins are buried. First they looked at my left arm and I was like there is no way you'll find one there, I was right! Both hands were out. Finally Justin was like, your vein is so buried we have ONE shot at this. The nursing student was shaking her head no because she was afraid she wouldn't be able to do it. Justin even looked at the space right underneath my shoulder and armpit. I was like NO WAY. Talk about a sensitive spot! They even looked at my feet. HA! Needless to say, he got it. Mel was shocked that the situation had come to this. Nothing like this happens to me. I thought I would be home in bed getting ready for the next 9 days of work. They started giving me anti nausea meds and pain meds. Justin said I would feel it all of a sudden and because I was sitting up, I suddenly was like dizzy, and warm and I said "I need to lay down". Everyone started laughing. Mel eventually had to go back to L&D to help deliver some babies, but I did get to meet her friend and co worker Amy, who all of us play a game on Facebook. About an hour later, they told me I would have to go for a CAT scan after drinking 2 FULL cups of Barium and almost puking it back up.

Whew!

You still with me?!?!

As they wheeled me down for the CAT scan, the nurse that was pushing me along, told me the doctors told her that she needed to push me very gently and be careful of any bumps on the floor. Odd huh? The CAT scan was a little weird to say the least. The meds they pumped into my veins burned and I was a claustrophobic. I squeezed my eyes tightly so I wouldn't start freaking out by being inside of the machine. At this point, I honestly just wanted to go home. I even thought about just leaving. It took them forever to give me any information and I assumed there was nothing wrong. *sighs*

Around 5:00 am, the Dr. came in and informed me that I had a grapefruit size cyst on my right ovary and he was calling the OB-GYN to discuss the removal of it or drugs to maybe shrink it. He also said they didn't know if my appendix was swollen or not, but it was extended. They were waiting for...who knows. Around 7 am or so, the nurse came in and told me they were admitting me and I would soon get my own room. I was shocked! Nobody was telling me anything and I was getting angry, irritated, and just full of anxiety. I called Mel back up in L&D and told her what was going on. She took care of Alexis that morning and told Alexis that "I was having more tests done". She and I didn't want to worry her before school.

Still with me?


Finally around 8:00 am or so I was moved into my own room. It was actually quite nice and so...quiet. It also had an awesome view. They were changing nurse shifts so yep....I got the student nurses again. *sighs* She was learning the computer and I could hardly understand what she was asking me. Finally after an hour of my medical history, we were done and I was left in peace.

Then the doctor that Mel works with came in and told me that yes my appendix was the main reason for the pain and the cyst was a lucky find. So it was basically a 2-for-1surgery. He told me there were 11 other surgeries that day and because I was a stable, healthy female I would be in surgery sometime between 4:30-5:00 that evening. I still couldn't believe I was getting ready to go under the knife...again. When I was 13, I had carpal tunnel in both wrists and it required me to go for surgery at 2 separate times for each wrist. Then approx. 10 years ago, I had my wisdom teeth taken out. These were minor compared to this one! The Dr. told me that the cyst was on my right ovary and that they might not be able to save it or my fallopian tube. I didn't know what to say. Many women have hysterectomies, but I, myself didn't want to lose any part of me including my ovary or fallopian tube. Drugs were an option to shrink the cyst, but because it was so big, they weren't sure if it would totally shrink or not. I was calm! My older sister came to visit me around 9 am or so, she brought me some bootiful flowers w/ a card and sat and talked for awhile, then Mel showed up. Now, because Mel works there she has access to the computer with my medical information on it. She brought up my cat scan and we were all just so silent after seeing the huge cyst. It was unbelievable. You would think I would know something that big was down there, but I didn't. Dava, my older sister, left around 9:45 so she could be at work by 10 and Mel left around 10:30 because she had worked the whole night and needed sleep. At this point, I had had 3 hours of sleep, I was so tired, and not to mention HUNGRY. No food for me though! Now that I think back, I didn't even get any ice chips. Jeez! I took a warm, relaxing shower and washed my hair since I couldn't shower the next day and for those who know me, know that I wash my hair every other day, otherwise, gross. So I took the shower and got back into bed and was just about sleeping and my grandma arrives. We talked about the past and the future. I was so tired, but didn't fall asleep. My grandma left around 4ish to meet Mel and the kids (including Alexis) to go out to lunch at Arbys. I talked to Alexis for a few minutes over the phone and Mel had told her what was happening. I was fine with the entire thing until Alexis started crying, I just tear up now thinking about it. We told each other we loved each other and that I would see her soon. I called her dad, my ex husband Jason and let him know what was going on. If for some reason I didn't make it, she would be on her way down to San Diego. He wished me luck. I also called work and let them know I would be out for an entire week. So right now, it looks as though I will go back on Monday.

They wheeled me out around 4:35 pm and put these legs covers that wrap around your legs and then blow up constantly like a blood pressure monitor around your upper arm. As they pushed me through the Surgery doors my anxiety level raised and I started to freak out a little. I actually started to wish that my mommy was with me. Hey I'm not embarrassed to say that. Who knew I was 31 years old. But I didn't show my anxiety. The nurse there gave me some relaxing medicine that she said might give me amnesia and she wasn't sure I would even remember our conversation, which I do. I was then given a plastic warm blanket that a long hose was inserted into and I was so warm. The surgical rooms were freezing!! I had to switch beds and they put an oxygen mask on me. I had 2 people on either side and 1 person at the head of me. I went to sleep.

Whew!

I woke up to the doctor explaining to me what had happened. But all I remember thinking was pleasssse be quiet. I am so tired. I remember seeing Alexis, Mel, Brandon, Jessica, and my grandma and that was it. I honestly don't remember much after that. The doctor came in when I was actually awake and explained things to me. The cyst was actually on my fallopian tube and not my ovary. They were able to save both which I am very thankful for. And the removed my appendix as well since this was the main reason for the pain I was in. The procedure that they did on me was called Laparoscopic Appendectomy. This is where 4 small incisions are made in my abdomen. One in my belly button, 1 on each side of my belly button and one under my belly button. Then a long metal tube with a tiny camera is inserted into these incisions. There they take out my appendix and the large cyst through the larger incision in my belly button. That is the most painful incision. The others I forget are there.

I was released Friday around 1 pm. Mel picked Alexis up for me and I met them at her house at 5:00 pm for dinner. Its now Tuesday and I can sleep a little better now. I have been a little nauseous and sick to my stomach. I have a doctors appt. on Thursday, so we will see what happens.

Selfish People!

Uggg, I just don't understand people. Why are people selfish? Why do people do the things they do. Let me explain a little bit.

Every year when I was little, for our birthday we would ALWAYS get something from both sets of grandparents. They would give us a card, money, savings bond or just something special for growing another year older. We would always have to put half of what we got into our savings account for the future and that was just the way it was.

Fast forward to 2009, Alexis is now 11 years old. When Jason and I were married and together, both sets of grandparents would always send something special for her birthday, we would have birthday parties for her and it would bring everyone together. Now that we are divorced and we have moved to Idaho, Jason's parents do nothing for Alexis. I send them pictures every year when honestly I don't feel the need to. But I do it regardless. Jason's father called me 2 weeks before Christmas and wanted to come over and pick us up to celebrate Christmas with them, which I don't think was the truth because he mentioned my mom and dad still living there. We got 4 feet of snow so we werent able to make it and I also had to work, whew! Jason's father also told me they had something for Alexis, but its now almost April and I have yet to see a package. J's mom lives in Montana and the other day called me up and told me she was in town and had just driven past our house. I was excited to see her, and to Alexis it was a surprise. They were down here purchasing a Chocolate Lab puppy for $400.00. What drives me crazy is that they can spend that money on a dog, but cant even bother to send Alexis a birthday card. I even hinted to her that Alexis was 11 now. She didn't hear me or acknowledge it. Now, all Jason does is deposit money into my checking account on Christmas and her birthday. But it would be nice for Alexis to at least send her a card, you know. Maybe I shouldn't be writing about this on here, but I get so damn angry. I don't want people to think Alexis is a little snot who expects things on special occasions, but to see her disappointed over and over again...

I would spend my last dime on one of my nieces or nephews birthday presents and ask Melissa, I have. I am single, and a single parent and its hard. I will be going back to school in the Fall, but I will post more about that later.

March Showers Bring March Flowers!

So last fall I planted a BUNCH of tulips and other flowers that I dont remember. With our 4 feet of snow I wasnt sure if they would come up or not, and well...they have!!! I am excited! Its March and we are still getting snow showers, then sun, then rain, then show showers...you get the picture.

Today, I went out to my garage and I needed to start cleaning it up because..well..I couldnt even get out the door. After manually pushing my 4 wheeler out of the garage so that I had room to move around, I started cleaning. I noticed that my daughters cabbage plant has started growing again, I am going to give it to Melissa and Steve (sister and bro-in-law) so they can put it in their garden because they own their home and I just rent. My daughter came outside to just stand there and do nothing, and she was like "Mom, look at those!" The pot that I planted was out in the garage the entire time and they actually grew without water. Strange! Here is what she was pointing out.



Arent they absolutely beautiful?? Oh, Spring is around the corner. Hurry up!! Sorry for the ugly background, all of our snow is almost gone and it left behind some ugly brown, dead grass.

Not Me Monday!!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not go out for my daughter's birthday dinner last night with my sisters' and their families.

I did not go into work for the first day today at 10:30 to turn in my drivers license and social security card for my I-9 to be told the only person who can enter my information into the system is the store manager and he JUST went to lunch. I then had to go back in around 2 pm to turn all the crap in.

I did not go to get dressed the other day and put on my socks, my jeans, and my shoes only to find out that while I was pulling up my pants did I notice I did not have any underwear on. I then did not remove my shoes and pants to put some on. No way, not me!

I did not wake up at 12:30 pm yesterday and make smoothies for the girls using strawberries, bananas, raspberries, yogurt and apple juice. YUMMY!!


I did not go to make myself another smoothie today and have my blender drop dead on me and then I did not go over to my sister's house to use her blender and had to share. LOL.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEXIS!

Jason and I got married and I then moved to Virginia because he was in the military. I absolutely loved it over there. Now, because I was as big as a house, I really wasn't looking for a job because I was at that point 7 months pregnant. Jason got a job with a friend up in DC packing up businesses and moving them. So on the morning of March 14th, 1998, Jason got up around 7 am, said he would be back around 4 or so, and he kissed me goodbye. I woke up around 9:00 am with really bad stomach pains and I thought wow, I need to go potty, if you catch what I mean. I then hopped into the shower and took a nice, warm shower and washed my hair. I then walked downstairs and had another contraction. I was like "I'm in labor and Jason is not home." Cell phones weren't popular at that time, so we didn't have those to talk to each other. I called my friend Lisa, who I was supposed to go shopping with and all I got was her answering machine. Yikes! I called the doctor up at Fort Belvoir (30 mins away) and was like I am in labor and have no way of getting there because my husband is at work and I can't get ahold of him. The hospital wanted to send an ambulance to pick me up and I was like No, wait a moment and let me call you back. I called my husband's friend Joe and was like can you please take me to the hospital. He was like of course. So I got ready to go and called the hospital back. I was then thinking how can I let Jason know I am at the hospital getting ready to give birth to my first child...alone. So I got on our answering machine and left an outgoing message telling Jason to get his butt to the hospital. So yes, anyone who called our number got that message. Hehe! Genius I think on my part!! Joe came and picked me up, and was so nervous I was going to give birth right then and there. He turns to me and says "are you sure you're in labor? I was like yes! We get to the hospital and I thank Joe for driving me up there and he was like, do you want me to go in with you. I was like umm, thanks, but I will be fine. Then poor Joe was like, "they think I'm the father and want me to fill out a bunch of paperwork". I had to set them straight. I was started on an IV, checked and I was dialated to a 6 w/o too many contractions. WOOOT! My friend Lisa came over and was so sorry she had her phone turned off, and she stayed with me for a few hours. She tried to call Jason up in DC a few times at the business office where he worked. The nurses broke my water and after that....well....ow!! The contractions got worse and I was like "epidural now please before its too late." As they started prepping me for my epidural, Jason walked into the room. Oh my God, I was soooooo happy to see him and I asked how he knew I was there. He told me he listened to the answering machine message when he called earlier. Whew! Normally, he just hangs up and doesn't leave a message, this time he did. After the epidural, I was laying comfortably in bed and Jason walks in with a twinkie in 1 hand and a mountain dew in the other. "You don't mind if I eat this in front of you, do you?" I was like of course not, thinking of ways I could tackle his ass and get them. It was approximately noon-ish time and I had not eaten since the previous night. I WAS STARVING!!! He was starving too. He hadn't eaten all day. So finally after a few more hours of dialating and 4 cups of ice..yummmmm, I started pushing. I was lucky, I only had to push 20 minutes or so and she was my first (and only!) child. My beautiful baby girl was born on 3/14/1998 at 3:14 pm weighing 8 pounds, 9 3/4 ounce.

Not Me Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

If you haven't checked out MckMama's blog, do it now! Its great and I personally love to read what she and her family are up to.

I absolutely did not spend over $300.00 on groceries the other day and then pig out on all the good stuff I bought.

I did not bring my neices to Albertson's the other day and let them buy $20.00 worth of junk food for their birthday.

I do not constantly check MckMama's blog to see if she has updated her information. That would be like me not being a stalker. Seriously...I just need a life.

I do not get online several times a day to check email, facebook, Myspace, my blog and other people's blogs and to play my Pogo games. *sighs*

I did not go to take the 2010 Census test last week and get an 85% on it. Now, I get to wait for them to call me so I can work and get paid. WOOT!

I definitely was not 3 minutes late to my Home Depot interview on the same day as the Census test, and I did not call the HR dept letting them know I would be late for my 2nd interview only to be told I got the job when I walked through the door. I did not have to even have that second interview. WOOOOOT!!

BBQ anyone?!

This past Friday, my daughter had her Family Fun Night at her school. Its her last year there and right now...I'm kind of sad because its on to middle school. OMG, that is so scary! The past 2 years we have gone, I usually buy her 25 game tickets, where she can win prizes or buy food (like popcorn). This year, I decided to let Alexis hang out at her school with her friends and not have me hanging around. She thought that was a great idea! This year, I bought her 25 tickets and 6 raffle tickets for baskets that each class participated in buying things for. I bought some last year and won nothing, so I only bought 6 this year with the assumption I wouldn't win anything. So Alexis and I drop our tickets in to 6 different baskets...a BBQ basket, a lottery ticket basket, a pizza basket, a cookie basket and 2 other ones I cant remember what though. I pick Alexis up at 7:15 and they are drawing for the baskets at 7:30 that night so we hang out and wait. Well...there are a lot of baskets, there are the baskets for all the classrooms AND other raffles for other things. So we hang out and its going so slow and I just want to get home. So we decide to go home, thinking that once again, we didnt win.

I pick Alexis up at school and here is what she is carrying...







Yep, we won! We got the BBQ basket that includes...hickory wood chips, 2 sets of skewers, BBQ sauce, an oven mitt, a table cloth, and a few other goodies. I was excited! Finally we won something. I will miss this next year but I know the middle schools around here do lots of great things. Now all I need is a BBQ....

Not Me Monday

For those who don't know MCKMama, you should click on the link and check out her blog, its hilarious, and not to mention how cute her kids are.


Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not go to church yesterday and did not enjoy it after not going for over 20 years. I went with my friend Carol and then my sister and nieces showed up. The pastor of the church was funny and also serious at the same time. Because honestly, who wants to be sitting there for over an hour falling asleep. They also have a great Christian rock band who got you on your feet singing.

I did not spend the last 2 nights driving down to Little Caesars each time and getting just their bread sticks. Because I totally didn't eat just carbs both nights for dinner.

I did not invite my daughter to stay the night at a friends house because I did not want to drive the 10 miles to go pick her after their "play date" was over. Normally I don't do that because its rude but the mom understood. I told her I would come back later and pick her. But just to let you know, when Alexis goes over to her friends house to hang out, she always calls me and says "friends name....wants to know if I can stay the night?" Then I have to drive some clothes, and whatever else she requests and I do not find that really irritating. Plus I do not get nervous when she is over at someone elses house because I can't look out for her and for some reason I do not fear my house or where she is at catching on fire.

Also, I did not spend $10.00 on some color highlights for my hair and I did not have my sister do them and they sure did not work. Err...honestly..they didn't. They were crap and a waste of money!

I did not eat the rest of the strawberries last night with Alexis yelling from her bedroom "you better not be eating the rest of those strawberries." Oops!

Education...what in the world.

Many of you know that Alexis is in the 5th grade here in CdA. I have always been active in her school education because I want her to become something in the future, whether it be a nurse or lawyer or teacher. Whatever she does, I know she'll succeed. So here is the problem that I am facing. This year, Alexis has her first male teacher and at first she was so excited because she heard he was a great teacher. Now, she would rather transfer to the other 5th grade classroom. Alexis has always received A's and B's throughout K-4th grade. Around Thanksgiving, her teacher has some illness that makes him miss MANY days of work. Alexis is always coming home telling me the substitute teacher that she had that day and how they are always "mean" to all the students. At first I told Alexis they aren't being mean, they have to have the tough look image or else the students will walk all over them. So, Alexis came home last week with a math test with a 33% on it. I was shocked and a little pissed off after Alexis tells me SHE HASN'T EVEN LEARNED THE CRAP THAT WAS ON THE TEST. Now, she isn't in any low math, she is in the accelerated math, right now doing area's of squares and rectangles, algebraic equations, distributive properties, etc etc...you get the point. Alexis had to redo all of the problems and her and I worked through all them together (thank goodness I finished math 108 in college). What I didn't do was "sign" her little test telling the teacher she has redone them. Now...for those who know me know that both of my parents are teachers. I grew up with their way of thinking, so I respect them. But when it comes to my child I have to do what is right. Alexis calls me from school telling me I didn't sign her test, so I tell her I will be in later to do it. She then tells me her sub wants to talk to me, I said OK. Her "sub" gets on the phone and wants to confirm with ME that Alexis actually did her math. HELLOOOOOO? Does she NOT have the 3 pieces of paper (she writes big!) ready to turn into her? At this point, I am so freaking irritated. I am also disgusted by the school ciriculum at this school and the whole school district. Now I know this isn't the teacher's fault, but to make kids take a math test when they haven't learned the stuff because its a mandatory test is just WRONG! Now on to her teacher... her teacher I am not fond of. He is basically a sarcastic man who thinks he knows everything. I sure shut him up when on a phone conference call told him both of my parents have taught school for more than 25 years. Now, because of his illness or who knows why...he is always GONE! How is he supposed to teach my child and other children all they need to know to move on to middle school when this man is gone all the time?! Why is it that my daughter loved school up until this year and gets so frustrated with her math that she now cries? And believe me, I've called my mom to help with some of this because yes I did take 108 in college, but it was 4 years ago or so. And the little math I learned wayyyy back in 5th was 20 years ago.

I looked online at the Idaho statures to see if I could find out legally how many days a teacher can miss, but I couldn't find an answer. I, of course, know how many sick days a teacher can take with pay, but not so many absences from a teacher. My daughter has only missed 1 day this year, and that was because she was throwing up. Its time for a conference with the principal because I am fed up with all of it. I want my daughter to have the best education and her teacher never being there is screwing that up and frustrating both of us!

Shopping

Alexis and I had a wonderful weekend and even better Valentines Day. No, I didn't get any flowers, but maybe one day when I lose weight maybe someone will want to be with me. I look forward to that day. Mind you, I LOVE having Alexis around, though NOT when she's making messes or accidentally drops my favorite mug on the kitchen floor, shattering it and then not cleaning up the shards of glass; but I look forward to not being single and enjoying my life with a wonderful man and maybe a few more kids. But enough about the woe-is-me pity party. OK, so I myself have never heard of the grocery chain Winco before. We just had one open in North Spokane which is, according to map quest 48 mins away and 38 miles from my house to the store. I have been bugging both of my sisters to go, but they work and don't have the time to drive all the way over there. So yesterday, Alexis and I decided to go to Kmart and see what kind of clearance they have on winter stuff and Alexis found the cutest comforter set. But, the downfall...they didn't have it in queen size. So we decided not to get it. I then decided to drive to North Spokane to go to Winco and to stop at Kmart over there, which to me, seems to be bigger?! They had the comforter, so that is one of Alexis' birthday presents. So after getting lost for a few minutes, we found Winco. Now this store is just like Costco, but it doesn't sell anything in bulk sizes. When we went in, they were down to 5 carts, we took 1, which left 4 if that tells you how busy they were. OMG, this is the best store. They have everything you need, except clothes, and electronics. I got huge boxes of Cheerios for $1.50. Crackers for 98 cents. Salmon fillets, 1.5 pounds for $3.98, skinless, boneless chicken breasts (4 huge pieces per package) for 98 cents per pound. Bananas for 18 cents per pound, and so much more. OUTSTANDING!! They are so much cheaper then Walmart. I asked the cashier if they were coming to Northern Idaho anytime soon and she did mention they were coming to the valley in April, which is 22 miles from me, not bad at all. They take all types of payments except for credit cards. Another great thing about this store is that its employee owned, which means employees who work there get to have stock in the company and they own it. Oh yeah, you also have to bag your own groceries, so if you go and are buying a lot of groceries, bring someone to help you bag them or else...

Migraines....

are the most dreaded thing right now. Let me go back to the beginning and explain how I got to this point. There might be just a little too much information in this post. Beware! Wayyy back in the year 2000, when I married to Jason, I had to find a civilian dentist off of base to do a root canal on my back molar. I thought I had found the perfect dentist and went off to have a root canal and then a cap put on. I sat in that chair for almost 2 hours and at one point, the "kind" dentist decided to put one of those black rubber openers in my mouth to keep my mouth open. Finally, its done and he takes the rubber opener out of my mouth and wouldn't ya know it, my jaw had LOCKED itself open. It wouldn't close! So I sat there trying to get it closed and working it so I didn't hurt myself. The "kind" dentist walked over to me, laughed and then SLAM!!, he closed my jaw. Now when he did this, all I heard was a crunch sound. Now to this day, I have really bad migraines and I also have TMJ, you can read more about it here at this informative website. http://www.tmj.org/ Now mind you, those who have never had a migraine, you are so lucky and I hope you never experience one. They are so painful and they literally cripple you. You try to think of so many ways to knock yourself out. Now with TMJ, I personally, cannot sleep on my stomach or on my side because if I have ANY pressure on my jaw, I can guarantee myself one of the worst migraines every. But you know, I love sleeping on my side, because when I was pregnant, sleeping on your side was the most comfortable, not to mention the most safest for the baby. I also love sleeping on my stomach because I (and dont you laugh at me!) love to bury my face in my pillows and find that cold spot. *SIGHS* Come on, we have all been there. Okay, sorry for getting off the subject there. Back to TMJ and migraines... Thursday morning started out like any other, I woke up after 2 hours of sleep to my brother-in-law dropping my 5 month old niece off while he went to school and Mel was working (he is in electrician school and she is an RN in labor & delivery.) After a few hours, Mel came over and picked her up early and I fell back to sleep for 30 mins. I then got up, took Alexis to school and came home and slept until 1 am. I had a few errands to do, so I ran around town. Now normally I dont breakfast (gross so early in the morning) and I dont eat lunch. Hmm, thats odd. Anyway... I picked Alexis up at 3:15 and we then headed to do a few errands, including Walmart which takes forever. You know...I still CANNOT find a metal snow shovel, grrrr! Now before I go on, let me explain that I've always had migraines, but since the dentist visit, my jaw now hurts all the time and my migraines are now worse. Around 5-6 pm Thursday night, Alexis and I got home and I could feel it starting to get worse, it wasn't too bad during the day. I took and hot bath which normally makes it go away. This time it didn't. This was the WORSE one I've ever had and it scared the shit out of me. Here were my symptoms:



1. neck and shoulder pain, it streaked up shoulders, and neck.

2. jaw pain

3. popping ears

4. also with the popping of the ears...anyone who has had a baby and knows what it sounds like to hear your baby's heartbeat like a boom boom boom boom. I hear that sound in my left ear and NO, I'm not pregnant. LOL!

5. nauseated, OMG, this was bad, I couldn't lay down flat at all, I had to prop myself up with 4 pillows.

6. blurred vision

7. slurred speech; my poor mom couldn't understand a word I was saying to her.

8. fatigue, I am so tired; all the time, including right now as I type this.

9. behind my eyes throb

10. throbbing headache

11. I couldn't catch my breath, almost passed out.

12. I couldnt take listening to any sounds, Alexis and I were watching Princess Diaries in my room, I turned it off, she turned it on in her room and I made her turn it off.

13. eyes sensitive to light, even outside [Friday] in the sun today hurt my eyes.

14. hot and cold sweats

15. I usually sleep with my fan on, but w/ migraines I cant have any cold air blowing on me.

16. no appetite (Alexis and I went to the mall today and they had a pretzel stand, she wanted one, I couldnt get away from them fast enough!)

17. my ears alway turn red and burn w/ migraines.

18. crunching sound when I open my jaw.

So with everything listed above. I walked, barily, into the living room and DVR'd Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice and then fell into bed. It was almost 9 pm and Alexis was getting ready for bed. I called my mom who always seems to make me feel better. But I was feeling so bad that she couldn't even understand what it was I was saying to her. She has a chiropractor over near Shelton that can put her back in alignment in less than 5 mins and she was going to ask him if he could help me, but I dont think I could or would want to travel all the way over there to Shelton for that. So finally with me talking and listening to her and almost throwing up, I had to end the call, and for those who know me I love talking to my mom and we usually talk for hours when I call. I promptly fell asleep around 9:15 or so, I was asleep before Alexis was. LOL! I woke up at 1 am and had trouble going back to sleep. I was in and out of consciousness throughout the night, finally waking up for the last time 6:48 am. I then woke up at 8 am because Alexis came in and told me to get up to take her to school. Now my alarm was set to go off at 7:30 and I NEVER heard it. My mom told me that I need to have X rays done of my jaw, neck and head. Who knows whats going on with me. I have no idea! But it was the worse pain I've ever felt and yes, even worse than giving birth. I'll keep you updated on whats going on.


Alicia


P.S. Happy Valentines Day everyone! Hope everyone has a special someone to share it with.

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.



Above is the link for MckMama's blog. If you havent checked out her blog, do so. She's incredibly smart, funny and inventive. This is my first time doing the Not Me! Monday. So go to MckMama's blog, grab and link and add it to your own blog. Its fun!

So I totally did not spend 2 longgg hours washing, and drying my clothes, then folding them and then I did not toss them onto my bedroom floor because I was too lazy to put them away. No way, I didnt do it.

And there is no possible way I did not stay up until 3:00am watching old episodes of Rescue 911 on Youtube and getting only 4 hours of sleep. I then, did not throw on my flannel PJ pants this morning to take my daughter to school instead of getting dressed. And I most certainly did not go back home and again be in bed. Oh no, not me!

I most certainly did not hit the gas peddle in my truck this morning on purpose to see if I would slide around a corner with the new inch of snow we got on the ground this morning. I would never endanger my daughter like that, no way, not me!

When working on my taxes this weekend, I certainly did not redo them 3 times to see if I would get a bigger refund. No way, not me!

And...lastly, I most certainly did not end my Not Me! Monday post so I can go back to sleep. No way, not me!

So check out MckMama's blog, its great. Grab her Not Me! Monday link and post one on yours.

Nature Walk

So Alexis and I had cabin fever today, so we decided to go for a hike/nature walk. It was a bit cold outside, but it wasnt so cold it was unbearable. We hiked up to Higgins Point to see if we could catch some sightings of the American Bald Eagle. But we didnt see one. Normally we see families of them flying high up into the air, but we couldnt catch sight of them today for some reason. I said they were probably at home watching the SuperBowl. Alexis replied that it would work if the Philadelphia Eagles were playing, LOL. What I did notice is a lot of people walking their dogs. I miss having a dog. I want a dog! I wonder if my landlord would allow me to have one?! My cats certainly wouldnt like it. But its a proven fact that people who have pets are happier. The only downsides to having a dog is 1.) I rent, so if for some reason I have to move, many landlords dont want to rent to you if you have big dogs and 2.) dog crap in the backyard...gross!! Back to our walk, it was so nice and quiet. I was disappointed though that we didnt see any eagle this time. We went approx. 2 weeks ago, and were lucky enough to get pictures. We even took binoculars this time with us. I will post the picture of the eagle we saw but because my camera only has a 4x zoom, its not the best picture. In fact, I am thinking about getting a better camera with my tax return. I am looking towards the Canon XS 10 with 20x optical zoom. *SIGHS* Here are some pictures that I took, plus the eagle picture that I took a few weeks ago.

Let It Melt, Let It Melt, Let It Melt!

So for the people who live here in Coeur d Alene, Idaho you know how much snow we got back in December. For those who don't....in 24 hours more than 2 feet of snow fell here and we got a total of 80 inches. The forecasters "predicted" that we would have a mild winter. HA! They were so wrong! I couldn't get out of my driveway because I live on a busy, busy road and the snow plows would come by every 30 mins or so. By the time the day ended, I had a berm 6 feet high, taller than my truck. Now for those who don't live but live in a place where snow doesnt fall often, schools hardly ever shut down here. From where I'm from, a little town near Olympia, when an inch fell everything shut down. Its mainly because a lot of schools are built up on hills, and the school buses couldnt get up them safely. So here in CdA, to have the schools close was shocking!! Alexis missed 2 days of school from the first 2-3 feet that fell. Then as buildings roofs starting caving in due to too much snow, the schools finally closed for 2 more days to clear off the roofs. You would have thought the school districts would have used the Christmas vacation to do that, but oh well. They arent the sharpest tools in the shed if you know what I mean. My landlord (who is the best landlord ever) needed to have our roof shoveled off because we had 3-4 feet up on it and we were worried it would cave in. So he hired these 3 freaking idiots (honestly they were, I think....well nevermind) to do it. They worked on it for 2 days and then quit because after 4 feet of snow and negative temperatures it was solid ice. So Chris (landlord) told me he would pay me to do it. So....with my severe ear infection in my left ear, cough, runny nose, sore throat and everything else you can think of for 2 weeks, I climbed up on the roof after some dilemma about me slipping off due to the amount of snow, but it needed to get done. So even though it was absolutely HORRIBLE, I did it. I won't ever do it again...unless I own my own home or I'm helping my sisters with their homes. And then it rained. Which was a good and a bad thing. Good because it melted a lot of snow, bad because other homes with the 4 feet of snow on them were weighed down more. Then my landlord broke my snow shovel and we couldnt find one anywhere. And it cant be a POS plastic one, it has to be a metal one like I had. It lasted me 4 years and I was sad to see it go. But because we have 2 more months of winter left, you cant find those anywhere. I even went to Wal Mart on New Years Day to see if they had them, because thats where I bought it 4 years ago, and they were CLOSED due to the flat roofs almost caving in. They finally reopened a week later, but who wants to spend 2 hours at Wal Mart?!?! So the reason for this post is because we havent received any snow in the last 3 weeks or so and its nice to actually NOT have to put my truck into 4 wheel drive and the snow is melting. We are supposed to get more snow tomorrow though. We are 13 inches away from an all time record. We need 13 more inches to beat it. Even though the snow is beautiful and peaceful, I cant wait for warm weather.

What the back our trucks looked like with so much snow!


Our trucks. Cant believe how much snow we got here.



This is what I found when I opened the door at 7:30am.

Awww, the snow is melting. Wish it would melt a little faster though.

First blog...yikes!

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog. My friend Carol thought I should start one so here it is. I'll add more as I learn how to do it..and I will probably become addicted to it.

Just a little more about myself. I was born in Olympia and raised in a little town called Shelton. I was then married at the young age of 19 to a man in the Marine Corp who I had met our junior year of highschool. I then had my daughter over at Fort Belvoir, Virginia on March 14th, 1998. She was an 8 pound baby and we named her Alexis Taylor. After moving around 4 or 5 times we settled in Silverdale, Washington at Sub base Bangor. Fast forward....

After divorcing in 2001, I started going back to school and Alexis and I moved to Spokane Valley, WA and we loved it there, but life happens. Fast forward again...

We are now living in beautiful Coeur d Alene, Idaho and its beautiful here. Alexis is 10-going-on 20 and is in 5th grade. She loves it! I will go back to school again in the fall and am changing my major from nursing to elementary education, so I can get my teaching degree.

Will post more later!