"Should old aquaintance be forgot...."

Well, the rush of Christmas is over. Thank God.
As the kids get older, it's just not the same. There are few surprises. The items get big-ticketier, so there are less of them. Keith and I didn't exchange gifts this year, because of the "lost money" fiasco. We did, however, pull off a big surprise. We got Braden and JJ a four-wheeler. Keith had it hidden at the neighbors, and Christmas morning, after the gifts were opened and the kids settled in to play their new video games, he ran over and drove it over. Braden was screaming like that kid on the commercial, and JJ was breathless. That was the highlight of my Christmas.
Braden hasn't had a meltdown in nearly a week, and things have sort of relaxed a bit here. Just a bit, though. He's still extremely miserable, and very easily frustrated, but no yelling, screaming, hitting or kicking. Part of me is thrilled, and the other part is just waiting for it to happen. I hope the second part of me is the one that's disappointed.
For New Year's, we're going to a small party with some friends. It's the people we vacation with every year. The kids all get along, and the adults will sit around and shoot the shit and have a couple of drinks. It should be a good time, and I'm really looking forward to it.
I hope you all had a great Christmas, and wish you a Fabulous New Year's.

I received a Christmas gift today. It's a cute chest filled with treats and snacks. The problem is, I have no idea who it's from. It came UPS, from Overstock.com, but there's no name on it anywhere except mine.

I saw mommy taking valium.....

I can't believe that a week from today is Christmas. Where did the time go? Where did my holiday spirit go?
I still didn't find that $400. So, we had to take money out of the credit union to cover Christmas, and we really had to cut back. I'm not getting Keith anything (except a couple of small things from the kids) and he's not getting me anything. I'm mostly done with shopping. I have to pick up a couple of gift cards for my dad, and something for JJ's brother, Andrew, who will probably be spending Christmas day with us. Nothing is wrapped, though most of the clothes are now in gift boxes. I made my cutout cookies last night and tonight I'm doing chocolate chip. I have to do my cream cheese cookies, oatmeal cookies and those peanut butter ones with the chocolate in the center. I have a stupid paper I have to write by Wednesday for that training I went to a month ago. What else? Oh, my house looks like a train ran through it.
Braden's been having those meltdowns at least once a week. I took him to the doctor, who's experimenting with different doses of his medicine. If that doesn't work, after the first of the year, we are going to try something new. It's such a horrible feeling to feel like you can't be away from home because you're the one who handles these things the best, yet you want nothing more than to be away from him. Then, you feel guilty for wanting to be away from him. I walk around trying to figuratively clear the path for him, so nothing frustrates him too much. Then, I resent having to treat him with kid gloves. Some days I feel like I'm the best mother in the world for dealing with all this, then an hour later I feel like certainly there's something I could have done different so he wouldn't be like this, and surely I'm the worst mother in the world for wanting to get in my car and drive far, far away. If he had leukemia, epilepsy, or some other more physical malady, I wouldn't have to feel like I have to hide this from people. But, could you imagine if word of this got out? He'd probably wind up with no friends, and be the talk of the town. If stress where worth money, I'd be rich. Rich I tell ya, rich!

"Mr. Bigstuff, who do you think you are?"

I don't know who I think I am, but some people's Christmas lights/displays really piss me off. I would like to have a little tablet of tickets made up and go around and put them on people's doors. They would say, "I've seen your Holiday display and:" then one of the following would be checked off:
1. They're absolutely beautiful
2. Nice job
3. You're almost there, keep trying
4. What in the hell are you thinking? You should have your power cut off so no one has to look at this hideous creation

I know it's petty and anal of me, but it really gets on my nerves when people have horrible looking decorations out. Who DO I think I am?

On another note, I've lost a big chunk of my Christmas money. It was sitting on the island in the kitchen, and Keith said, "you better put that somewhere." and I did. I thought I put it in the envelope where I had the rest of the money, but it's not there. I've checked every drawer, cuppyhole, basket and cabinet. I can't find it anywhere. $400. Down the drain. I don't even know how long it's been missing. Could have been for weeks, since I hardly did any shopping yet, I don't really go in that envelope. It could have been stolen, I guess, or I could have misplaced it. Maybe I even threw it away by mistake. There are going to be some sad faces, mainly mine, come Christmas morning.

Here we go

Okay, I'm using Picasa, since I couldn't get them to post the traditional way.

 
  

Here are a couple of pictures....The first one is the new cat, Baxter. It's hard to get a good picture of her, because she's all black and doesn't show up very well. The other picture is Ed, the cat in the Christmas tree. This is the cat that looks like Emma's Nesta, although Ed is obviously much cuter.
Not much else to post right now, I'll update sometime over the weekend. On Saturday we're going to NYC for the day...shopping, eating, sightseeing, etc. I'm sure I'll have something to say after that.

Hmmm, it wouldn't let me download the pictures....I'll have to try again later.

"The cats in the cradle and the silver spoon..."

Those of you who seem to find more to say when things aren't going as well as may be expected will enjoy this post.
As I said in my last post, we do our big Thanksgiving dinner on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. So, I had 22 people coming to eat at my house. I spent all day Friday decorating and cleaning. Saturday I cooked and cleaned some more. Sunday, I was up at the crack of dawn doing yet more cooking and cleaning.
You may recall that we have two cats. Ed and Fat Joe. We got them at the same time from some rescue agency. Ed is very personable and a people person. Fat Joe...not so much. He basically hides in the basement, eats and shits. Every once in a while Braden was able to get Fat Joe to sit with him for ten minutes and be petted. As long as Braden went to the basement.
Sunday morning I went down to feed the cats, and Fat Joe didn't come running. Very unusual. I looked around, and he was just laying there. I didn't think too much of it. But a short time later, I heard him making this very strange meow. I went down, and he was still laying in the same spot, but it looked like he was trying to move, but couldn't. Well, to make a long story short, I had to prepare a dinner for 22 while a cat was in my basement dying, and Braden was a wreck. He kept going down and checking on him, crying.
Fat Joe passed away around 8:00 that night. Braden was inconsolable. He tried to give him mouth to mouth and cpr. He was holding him saying, "Come back Fat Joe." He cried and cried and cried. Then he said, "I'll have to get a new cat now." Through his tears, I told him that we'd go to the SPCA and see what they had. This made Braden feel a little better, and he soon cried himself to sleep.
Monday, we went and walked into the "cat room". We wound up getting this beautiful, black maine coon-type cat. He has the softest fur. He loves to be held and rubbed. It was a miracle we didn't leave with more, because they all looked so needy.

"He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of company D"

Well, the Christmas season is officially here.
We did absolutely nothing for Thanksgiving. We do our big family dinner on Sunday. We used to do Thanksgiving Day with Keith's mom, but since she passed away, we just stay home. Keith, Braden and I went to see Casino Royale. JJ was at his aunt's for the holiday. That night, I drove to Harrisburg to pick up Renee to come and stay for a few days. What's up with her, you might be thinking. Well, I'll tell you. She wants to join the Army. Yes, Renee in the army. She's met with the recruiter twice, taken a couple of tests, and says she's serious about this. When I told my parents her plans, my dad said, "Whose army?"
JJ made the basketball team, so he had to cut his Thanksgiving vacation short. Instead of staying in Philly until Monday, he came home last night. He's doing very well in school, and has moved up several levels and if things keep going this well, he'll be going to regular school just after Christmas.
Braden had a decent week. No real outbursts. Lots of moodiness, though. But, we were able to talk through near-meltdowns and avoid calamity. I've tried to get him to commit to a Christmas list, but it changes daily.
I had planned to do cooking and grocery shopping yesterday, in preperation for feeding the 20 or so people here tomorrow, but it was so nice out, that I decorated for Christmas. All but my tree. I don't remember ever decorating for Christmas without a jacket on. I was actually sweating. I hung all white lights outside, but Keith and the kids are complaining that it needs some color, so I might have to pick up something colorful to put out there.
Well, I'm off to get a shower and go grocery shopping. Then I have to make the make-ahead things for tomorrow.

"Cause you had a bad day, you're taking one down"

I have had the worst week imaginable. Maybe not the worst week imaginable, but a very bad week.
As most of you know, Braden is bi-polar. While there have been, I'll use the word explosions here, because that's what they're like, explosions before, they've been once a month, or every two months, or every three weeks. Good times in between. Calm times in between.
This week, we've had three nights of hell in a row. Tuesday night, he went off over something, and I can't even remember what it was. Something inconsequential. It usually is. Something most of us would be able to shrug off. He gets violent now during his episodes. Throwing things, tipping furniture over, saying he's going to hit Keith or I, threatening to kill himself or run away. Tuesday night's tirade lasted about an hour, but then subsided. The one good thing, as twisted as this sounds, about these episodes is that the days right after, Braden's overcome with this kind of peace. Partly to make up for what happened, and partly because his body feels good to have released it's posion. But that didn't happen this time.
Wednesday night it happened again. But this time it only lasted about twenty minutes, and wasn't nearly as bad as the night before. Just enough to unsettle everyone in the house.
Thursday night was the worst ever. All I did was tell him to call his aunt to ask her how to switch sim cards in a phone before he did it wrong and screwed them up. He went ballistic. And, not spoiled brat ballistic. Just crazy people ballistic. He took a knife and tried to cut himself. He told me I better watch my back because he was going to get me. He kept swinging at me, close enough that I could feel the air swoosh by my face, but not close enough to make contact. With Keith it was a different story. He was punching him and hitting him. We restrained him three times in a 2 1/2 period. The whole time he's crying, "I can't stop. I need to calm down. Make it stop." I thought I was going to have to call the police or an ambulance. And, it's very hard for Keith to stay calm during this. He yells and threatens, adding fuel to the fire. When all was said and done, he was unconsolable.
I talked to his doctor, who thinks it might be a medicine thing, and we've upped the dose of one of them. We've tried to talk to Braden to find out what's going on. He's getting very frustrated with school again this year, and thinks one of his teachers hates him. I know this woman, she had him last year. I think he's imagining it. Also, he's a peanut of a kid. Probably a good six inches shorter, and fifty pounds lighter than his friends/classmates. They're all going through puberty, he isn't yet. He hates that he gets pulled out for learning support english and math, yet he'd flounder in reg ed classes for those subjects. I think that all these frustrations add up all day long, and he holds it in all day. He wouldn't want to have an episode at school in front of his peers or teachers, so he comes home and then the slightest little thing happens, and the floodgates open.
Needless to say, I haven't gotten anything done around the house this week. Dinners have been rushed and thrown together, laundry is stacked up and my part time job has been ignored. We're walking on eggshells. It's really like a battle ground.

"The wheels on the bus go round and round"

Keith was away on a work trip all week, so my week was kind of hectic. Not that I missed him or anything, but I was the one that had to do all the running, picking up of kids, etc. Most nights, we didn't eat dinner until 8:00.
JJ went on a home visit to his aunt's this weekend. We took him to the bus station at 5:30 Friday night, and he didn't get to Philly until after 10:00. Philly is only an hour and a half away. Poor kid. Sitting on a bus with a bunch of strangers all that time. At least he got a seat this time. Last time he went, he had to stand the whole way.
A few weeks ago we bought a used go-kart for the kids. It's a two seater, so Braden and JJ can both ride. We were having a problem getting it started, so we took it to a dealer to be fixed. Finally, we got it back this week. The kids are really enjoying it. They took me for a ride the other night, and they really enjoyed scaring the crap out of me by taking quick corners and dodging trees at the last minute. Then, they drove it right through this huge mud puddle. I was wet up to my waist, mud splattered all over my face, leaves stuck in my hair...I was screaming and laughing at the same time. I probably haven't been muddy in over 30 years. Braden and JJ thought it was hysterical that they got me all wet and dirty.
I went to a surprise 40th birthday party last night, and met a woman who is quite an accomplished seamstress. An accomplished seamstress that's retired, looking for projects to do and has a basement full of fabric. I'm going to have her make me an ottoman cover and some dining chair slip covers. And, maybe I won't stop there.
I'm having a Tastefully Simple party here this afternoon. If you've never been to one, it's all things you'd use to cook/entertain. All food products. Dip mixes, marinades, drinks, etc. I love the stuff. Hopefully a lot of people will order and I'll earn tons of free stuff.
JJ has basketball tryouts this week, and Braden doesn't have anything going. I have a Jewelry party to go to on Thursday night. Other than that, we have a week that should be pretty calm.

"Play that funky music white boy"

I've really got nothing exciting to report, so you can skip this post if you want.

Trick or Treat was Tuesday night. Braden dressed up as a pimp - I wanted to post some pictures, but none of my batteries are charged enough to download from my camera. JJ said he was too old to go (which I agreed with), so he hid on the porch and scared the crap out of kids when they reached for the candy. Also, he inadvertantly scared some of the parents - even though they didn't say anything - I could see the look on their faces, "Oh my God, a black person!"
The first marking period is over, and I'm not sure what JJ's grades are going to be, but Braden is winding up with an A, a C and the rest B's. Not too bad considering he missed a few homework assigments because I refuse to fight with him over them anymore.
JJ has his last football game on Monday, then he gets a week off, then there's basketball tryouts. He's made quite a few friends on the football team and hopefully he'll make even more playing basketball. He said to me the other week, "Miss, I never thought I'd have so many white friends." At one of his football games, he was on the line of scrimmage, and on the other team, right across from him, was a Puerto Rican kid that went to Second Chance with JJ. The kid said, "What are you doing playing ball with all these white boys?" JJ said Nazareth's whole line of scrimmage was lauging so hard, the almost got a flag for moving before they were supposed to (I'm sure there's a football term for that, but I don't have any idea what it would be). Behaviorally, he's doing really well at school, and has moved up to the silver level-if he does good for the next marking period, they'll send him to our regular high school.
Braden's still sticking with scouts, although it's getting harder and harder to keep him interested. There's only a couple of kids his age still in it, and he's always looking for excuses not to go. Last week, he wanted to stay home and study for a test - so you know it's bad.
I have a training for school to go to this week. I'll be out of the building Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It couldn't come at a worse time, as all the grades and such have to be in this week. I'm on the school's SAP team, and it's an official SAP training, so I have to go. At least I get to sleep a half an hour later.
That's about all I have to offer. Pretty slim pickings.

"The screamin tires, the bustin glass, the painful scream that I heard last"

You know, ever since I saw the first Volkswagon commercial where the two guys are driving along, chatting with eachother and out of nowhere a car comes and crashes into them, my life has changed. I can be watching a tv show, living vicariously through Kate or Joy or Michael, when it shows them in a car. My heart rate starts to increase. My palms get sweaty. God forbid the driver look over at the passenger and start talking. When that happens, I actually have to get up and walk around the room, or sneak into the kitchen for a snack. I'm always expecting a car to come barreling through an intersection and plow into them. It's really awful. Those ads really get to me, and it's ruining my television viewing experience.

It's that time of the year again. I hate when it happens. It's election time. I really am so sickingly tired of the ads these politicians run. They don't have anything good to say, just negative things about their opponents. The only thing I know about any of them, after months of their campaigning, is who they hate. I wish that everyone would refrain from voting for any candidate that ran negative ads. Wouldn't that be something? If on election day, only a handful of people showed up to vote. I'd love it.
You know what else I love? As silly as it sounds, I love when THE SHELL WITH IT shows up at the top of the list. Isn't that ridiculous? But I love it. I really do.
I bought a new $45.00 bra from Victoria Secrets. I love their bras, and I can walk in and buy any 34C and know it's going to fit. But, this time I wanted a non-underwire bra. So, I bought the IPEX one. I hate it. It's bunchy on the sides, and it kind of hurts across my back. What gives VS????

"Tears on my pillow, pain in my heart..."

I need a new pillow. I had the best pillow in the world. I'd had it since I was a kid (imagine the "stuff" living inside of it) but I had to get rid of it about a year or so ago. Now, I can't find a pillow I like. I wake up with headaches, and neckaches all the time. It can't be too soft, and it can't be too hard. It needs to be just right. I feel like Goldilocks. A couple of months ago Keith bought me a $75 pillow with memory foam inserts in them - yuck. The worst pillow yet. And, the problem is, in the store, they all feel comfortable. Of course, I'm only touching them. Not laying on them for six hours.
Any recommendations? Can I get a little assistance? Help a brother out!

"Wednesday at three I called the phone company, singin' hey baby put a phone in for me"

We went to get new cell phones last week. We switched to Cingular, the family plan. Radio Shack had a deal on phones, so that's where we went. BIG MISTAKE! There was only one person working and the whole process took only 3.5 hours! And then, when he had the phones all sitting on the counter, programmed and ready to go, he went to the back room to get the paperwork he printed, someone came in and swiped one of the phones. Right in front of us. Well, right in front of Keith. Braden, JJ and I were looking in another section of the store at remote control cars. So, we had to start all over again with the 4th phone. What a waste of a Sunday afternoon.

School is going well. We probably have the worst class in the whole building (barring the Conduct Disorder class). But, I really like the teacher I'm working with, and the staff in the neighboring classrooms too. They are a bunch of very funny people, and the day really flies. One of my kids told me earlier this week that "someone should punch me in the head and teach me a lesson". I just laughed and said if were that easy, my husband would have done it years ago. Sometimes, if I have to entertain them for a short period of time, I'll tell them my stories that I used to post here. Last week, I told them about being clothes-lined in 7th grade. I showed them a very geeky picture of me to go along with the story. One of my toughest kids looked at the picture and said, "Miss, if you would have taken those glasses off I'd have hit that." I looked at him and cleared my throat, and he said, "Sorry, I would have asked for your number." I said, "thank you, I think?"

Someone said, and I think it was Binx, that maybe things would change and JJ would like his teacher, and Braden would hate his. Well, it happened. Or, I should say it's happening. Thanks, Binx. Why couldn't you have predicted that they would both end up liking their teachers?

Today we're going to a picnic/party. It's a reunion of a softball league that used to play 25 years ago. I'm sure there will be lots of drunked men there, reliving their glory days. I'm also sure that Keith will be included in that bunch.

"This here's the story bout Billy Joe and Bobby Sue..."

What a Saturday we had! Looking back now, it's a little funny. In fact, if it would have happened to someone else, it would have been funny by Sunday.
Braden was not having a good day. It was JJ's birthday, and in spite of my efforts to pay a lot of attention to Braden, he didn't take too well to having someone else in his own house have the limelight. He didn't do anything major, just lots of annoying shit all day long.
He and JJ got into an arguement about where their bike ride should end - which is no big deal, right? But, Braden has to fight dirty in every arguement and he called JJ the N word, and in the midst of their arguement said that he wished he'd never come into our lives. So, obviously, Braden got grounded.
That afternoon, Keith and JJ were going to go to Walmart so JJ could spend some birthday money, and I wouldn't let Braden go because of his behavior earlier. This didn't sit well with Braden, so he pitched a royal fit. Tried to block Keith from leaving the driveway, threatening to run away, standing in the front yard screaming his head off like a three year old. I told him that if he didn't come in the house, I was going to call the police because running away is illegal. But, what I didn't realize is that Braden had the phone outside with him. So, to be a wiseguy, he decides to call them himself. He dialed 911, but then quickly hung up when he thought better of it. TOO LATE!
Of course the police call back, and I explain that it was just my son being a wise guy. They insist on sending a patrolman over to check. REWIND to about an hour before all this when Braden had a bloody nose (he gets them occasionally), but didn't come in the house, so there were blood drops all over my sidewalk and porch, and all over the front of Braden's shirt.
I quickly made him jump in the shower and am about to wash the blood off the sidewalk when the cop car pulls in. By this time, Braden's hysterical that they're going to take him away. I explain to the officer what he did, but he wants to talk to Braden. I go up to the shower and coax Braden to come down and talk to the cop...but, of course I have to talk extra sweetly to Braden because I have a cop in my living room. While Braden's coming down the stairs, a second cop car pulls into the driveway. Oh, and it's in the middle of a beautiful Saturday afternoon, so all the neighbors are outside - kids playing, men lawn-mowing, etc.
They give Braden and lecture on what 911 really is for, ask him if he feels safe, tell him that he can't get that angry every time he gets grounded, because at 13, he has a lot of groundings coming up. Braden kept staring at me the whole time he's talking to them, like he's checking with me for his answers. It was awful.
The cops left, walking right over the bloody sidewalks, and for the rest of the day I kept waiting for Child Protective Services to come back and arrest me.
I think I can honestly say that it was one of the worst days of my life. If the cops hadn't believed him, I could have lost my job, we could have lost JJ, and lord only knows what could have happened to Braden.

"Teacher don't you fill me up with your rules...."

As I said before, we work in this wonderful, state-of-the-art new building now. Everything's nice and clean and sparkly. Everything is also very automated. Especially the bathrooms. Automatic toilets, automatic sinks, automatic hand dryers.

Not that I especially mind this automation, but I run into a little problem. You see, I stand to wipe. Does anyone else stand to wipe. The damn toilet always flushes when I stand to wipe, then I have to get it to flush again when I'm through. So, for the past four or five weeks, I've been doing this little "I'm finished peeing" dance in front of the sensor to make it flush, after it's already flushed.

But, lo and behold, I just found out the other day that there's a button you can press to make it flush. Imagine by surprise! No more "I'm finished peeing" dance. A wise woman down the hall filled me in on this little secret. I'm going to nominate her to win a lottery ticket during our next staff meeting. It's not exactly what people normally get nominated for, but, I think it's just as important.

"It's a family affair..."

Two school weeks down, countless more to go.
Braden mostly likes all his teachers....he doesn't dislike any of them, so that's a big plus. JJ, on the other hand, absolutely hates his teacher. And, knowing JJ as I do, that's going to lead to trouble. He's already gotten into little arguements with her over her treatment of other kids in the class. I'm trying to explain to him that maybe it would be in his best interest if he just worried about himself, instead of the others, but little Al Sharpton thinks that he has to stand up for people that won't stand up for themselves.
My class is pretty good. My favorite student so far just got sent back to Philadelphia, so I have a vacancy. (I'll tell you his story another time, you just need to know it's a sad one) We're getting a new girl on Monday, a transfer down from another class. She's a beautiful girl, but as street as they come. Every other word out of her mouth is "fuck", and she doesn't even realize she says it. It should be interesting. She'll be the only girl in the class, so that should shake things up a bit too.
I took my venus fly trap plant in last week, and the kids are fascinated. I have to keep looking for little things like that to take in. Things that make them ask questions and want to know more.
I'm sad that summer's over. Summer is my favorite time of year. Although, I can say that I'm a little anxious to decorate for fall. I love putting mums, pumpkins and hay bales on the porch. And, the colors are so pretty.
JJ had his first football game on Tuesday. They won, 21-0. He's second string, but got to play nearly the whole fourth quarter, and made a really good tackle, where they announced his name on the loud speaker. He's also on all the special teams, whatever that means.
The new tv season is starting soon. There's a couple of shows that look promising, plus I can't wait for Earl, The Office and Lost to start up again. Prison Break already began its new season, and it's really good. JJ made fun of me the first night it was on, because I told him we all gather in the living room and watch it as a family. He kept mocking the "family time" part of the process. But, now every Monday he says, "Miss, today's Monday. We all watch Prison Break together tonight." If his hood buddies at the Home could hear him, they'd faint. Or disown him. Or envy him.

"But that doesn't mean my feet are too big for my bed..."

What a wet, soggy few days! Everything feels damp and sticky, except, of course, me. JJ's first football game was canceled, and both kids were in the house mostly non-stop.

The first week of school went fairly well. I think I'll like the teacher I'm working with, and the kids in my class aren't too bad...yet. There is this one 9th grader that still wears light-up sneakers that I'm a bit concerned about.

On Saturday night, we went out to dinner to one of those Hibachi grill places. The food was fantastic, but the guy who cooked at our table was like a wet rag. He seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else that in that restaurant. We went with the neighbors, and it was my idea...so I felt kind of badly about it. At least the food was good.

On Sunday, we went to an indoor laser tag/bowling alley/arcade place in the poconos. The kids had a great time, and so did I when I kicked everyone's butts in bowling. One of Braden's friends went along with us. He's my favorite of his friends, even though he's probably the nerdiest. This kid is a straight through high honor roll student, never swears or talks back...the exact opposite of Braden. I don't see why they're friends. But, even funnier, is watching him interact with JJ. It's like street vs prep school. But, they get along great. The kid's last name is pronounced Biss-e-oh, and JJ calls him Bitch-e-oh. The kid calls JJ, Gay-J. It's hysterical. Or maybe just to me.

I'm doing pretty well with the no smoking. I'm allowing myself four cigarettes a day. One in the morning, one after work, one after dinner and one before bed. Soon, I'm going to cut back to three, but I don't know when. I keep putting it off.

"It's been a while"

What a week! Back to work. Now, my house, which was clean all summer, is a mess. In one week. How can it happen so fast? I haven't blogged all week...everything's on the back burner, again.
The kids are mostly ready to go back. There's been a guarentee from Nazareth that they won't strike until at least September 21st, when they have a meeting to vote on the new contract. So, hopefully, there won't be a strike.
We took JJ for a haircut last night at a barber shop in Easton. Now, picture the barbershop from the movie, "Barbershop"...it was almost like that. Except, not nearly as big. It was fun just being there, listening to everyone. Keith and I were the only white people there.
The rules where I work have changed, and we can't wear open toed shoes anymore, so I had to do some shoe shopping...nearly all of my summer/early fall shoes are sandals, so I had to get new ones. Isn't it great to have an excuse to "have to" get new shoes?
Jj's been playing football on the freshman team. He's very good, but is only on second string. I hope it's just because he's new, and not because of his color. He's making friends with kids on the team though, which is really good.
Braden wanted those really tight jeans for back to school, so we got him a pair. He looks like he's starved in them. He's skinny to begin with, but at least with the baggier cut, it wasn't so obvious. His new look (and he always has one) is polo shirts and tight jeans.
The neigbor kid leaves today for his sophmore year of college. Last year, the mom was balling her eyes out the week before he left, and the week after he left. This year, she told me, she was counting the days till he leaves. What a difference a year makes.
Well, that's about it for me and my same-ole same-ole.