I don't feel good. I'm putting Vicks on the bottom of my feet 'just in case' it works. Pretty bad, huh??

That's how I woke up and it went downhill from there. The worse ones were my daughter showing up with news. It seems the baby's father has taken up with a new female. One that is a carrier of the MRSA, often pronounced mersa. In short it is a staph infection that is pretty much resistent to most antibiotics and can be fatal. The baby of course has now been exposed to this person.

Now, it seems that the father tried to throw in her face a person she's met that ONCE had it and was treated for it. He has no insurance and went to the hospital to be checked, at his expense to ensure he was clear of the illness. While he was there they gave him an IV of the antibiotics that had worked for him. He has been declared and deemed healthy and safe to be around. This other woman apparently is not.

While she's telling me all of this I'm thinking to myself, 'baby exposes us, we pass it each other. Each of the men pass it to different people they work with which adds up since they are at different job sites all the time. But the bigger numbers come in when I think of the Kiddo.

Imagine all those children, their friends and their families and you see where I'm headed? I've got an epidemic going on in my head and we don't even know for certain that he's contracted MRSA.

Kiddo made it all day in school. However... Yes, there is a HUGE however; something must have happened at lunch? Her mood went downhill and she got sent to the office. For once they let her calm down and sent her back to class but she was not happy the rest of the day. So, for the first time in two weeks she got a yellow or red..not sure which but it's not a green.

Then, she started having a temper tantrum on me. I kept trying to pick her up and put her back into the corner and then she started kicking. I was getting angry because she's FIVE she shouldn't be acting like this. But I did not know anger.. no, not even anger so much as pain until she kicked me in the temple with her heel.

So, I'll get it worked out and my son called and guess who was coming to pick her up? So, she doesn't get punished, there's no problem.. kick Grandma and leave with Mom. I didn't tell mom.. but I did forget to send home this collection of school papers she wants. Oh well. I hope the mother isn't at the meeting tomorrow because I really don't want to get into why I changed the address the Kiddo lives at. That was her fault for registering her wrong.. and I didn't know she did that so I stepped into something that got fixed. She however will be angry I'm sure.

I tried to take a picture of the Kiddo to show why I had hoped her mother would let me take her to get her hair cut, maybe get some bangs but I don't think it turned out. Suffice it to say.. yesterday it was a screaming match because the knots were so bad in her hair. Today.. she took the hair ties out and she looked like Cousin It. She deserves better than that.

I need to figure out how to get this car seat back in and go get the baby cause I GUESS I'm supposed to pick him up. She said she was going to tell his dad I was sick but knowing him, that's not his problem.

Sometimes I don't want to do this anymore. Sometimes it's not the children and it's not my kids that are a problem it's dealing with the OTHER parents... the ones that complain if I might have a pair of pants that only the little girl can fit into, (which I don't) or that doesn't give a rat's bottom if someone is sick... one day I needed off for work and the baby's father was off. He had "things" to do that day so I had to work with the baby in tow. This... and getting kicked in the head is why I'm tired. But for MY kids, and for MY grandkids I will plug along but I wish the other parents would use the bathroom or get off the pot cause I don't have time for their stuff and neither do their children.

How can you know someone has a contagious but potentially fatal "illness" for lack of a better word, and bring your child around said person? That's chlid neglect if I ever heard it.

For some reason I packed my notebook so I could write down all those thoughts, reminders or humorous moments that popped up while we went to Pennsylvania. So, there it was in the trunk rather than the front seat of the car and the small things I've long since forgotten.

It was peaceful, it was quiet and we saw some friends we don't often see. We got some Christmas shopping done, we got the Kiddo her first porcelain doll. Yes, it was a cheap one but my husband figures she'll want to play with it. She pretty much leaves my daughter's dolls alone so maybe she'll be okay with them.

Actually, every year we'd made this ride to Lancaster to a doll shop and bought our daughter one. Now she's moved out and grown. So, I think my husband is planning on seeing what the Kiddo does with this cheaper version of a doll and if she takes care of it then he won't mind paying for the collecting kind.

But, the really funny thing is a phone call I got. I had sent a picture to the son of my husband's cousin. Husband's cousin doesn't get pictures on his phone. My husband tried to call both cousin and son... and didn't reach them. When my phone rang later in the day I heard the gravely voice with that mischievous laughter, more like a giggle, say, "Hello, Judy!"

Judy is not my name but for some reason the cousin always thought it was Shirley. Me, not feeling comfortable correcting him the second and third time just simply answered to him. This was three years ago. One day someone finally reminded him that Shirley was another relative and reminded him of my name. At that point he just laughed and I became whatever name he happened to think of at the time. I've answered to Jane, Mary, Mildred, Gertrude.. you get the idea.

So, today I was apparently "Judy" and this threw me off but for some reason he told me "This is Bill." Bill of course is not his name and actually I used his name but there was that hint of a giggle in his voice and I went with it. There was the usual idle chit chat, the how are you's, what are you up to and finally 'Bill' spit it out. "I got a phone call about the accident you were in last night."

Accident? Uhm.. and the laughter was gone from his voice replaced with concern and I knew something was wrong. "You were called that I was in an accident?" When he remained serious I quickly told him I'm sorry he has the wrong number.. the wrong Judy. And "Good luck I hope she's okay."

I hung up the phone and looked rather perplexed as I told my husband who quickly pulled his phone out to call his cousin and tell him. Laughing the whole time until he hung up again still unable to reach his cousin.

After that was the long ride home. Traffic was horrid today. A three hour ride took more like five or six. I slept and coughed. He sniffed and drove. Seems I do the ultimately gross thing.. in my sleep I cough and often times on him. I was about to pack up my pillows and blanket and sleep on the couch but he would rather I stay there in the bed.. so now he's sick too.

The only glitch in this is that all day I've thought it was Sunday. During traffic I tried to pull up the football scores. When my husband realized what I was doing he once again reminded me it wis Saturday. Then, I came downstairs with every intention of watching Desperate Housewives only to be reminded that it's been Saturday the last twenty times I questioned it.. it's still Saturday.

The question now is.. what will my name be if his cousin calls back and what day will I think it is?

My husband wants to make rocking chairs for four children. We were talking about getting someone to help and we could set up a factory out there and get them all done. Not sure what I could do I offered to put a decal for each child on them. Then my husband said I could paint them! Paint has been off limits since I stepped in a paint can and I get to paint!
Maybe

Just what part of "PLEASE give me a list for Christmas is hard?

My son said, "I know I should write a book [diary] about all the stuff going on but I don't write very good." I nodded and before I could say anything he asked if I'd start one.. he knew it might be kindof late.

Thanks to Friday and my penchant for venting I did recently start putting prudent things in here. I bet I also have in old blogs posts where I "vented." I will have to search and hope these old blogs are still there for one and start moving those posts here!

I have a friend too that we used to talk back and forth.. I can see if he saved anything but I do think he's long since deleted it. Speak of the devil.. D.. I miss you!!

There was the couch stuck in the doorway of a house we were moving out of. Realtors were trying to show the house so potential renters/buyers had to duck around the couch and broken glass from the window in that had once been in the door.

There was the office I painted with paint bought off the clearance rack in Home Depot. A buck a can for paint that is wrong and nobody in their right mind would purchase. My office is now yellow.. like working in the middle of a Lemon Drop. Which is kindof okay but the trim is BRIGHT yellow! Not only the trim but also the carpet where I tried to get off the ladder and stepped into the can of paint.

Caulking on the floor from trying to add the finishing touches to the upstairs bathroom remodel. Only it was not the kind of stuff I was used to and made a mess of the place.

The list goes on and I've been told, asked, pleaded with to quit trying to "Help save money, or just please quit helping." It seems when I try to help ESPECIALLY if it involves something messy I end up making more work for my husband than he would have had if I just left well enough alone.



Last night I saved thirty dollars on a new stamp for our business. Of course it cost the business WAY more than that if I were to charge for my time. Yet, I oddly feel rather accomplished even if my hands are black!!

My son said he needed a break and my husband told him he'd have Thanksgiving off. Son was telling me this and seemed as if he didn't quite find this amusing. Okay, I know it's only one day and what I knew that he apparently didn't know yet is that they had the weekend off.. though they do have to work tomorrow. Is he that worn out?? As I do with all of the kids I started to worry.

Then he spilled it out. At 8:00 am on his only day off he has to go to I-Hop for breakfast. "Mom, it's with my room mate and his woman, my best friend that's helped me alot and I can't turn him down." I understood him to be saying that he really wanted to sleep in but he'd do this for his friend.

However, he wasn't done. He has to go to my ex-husband's house from two to four this afternoon for Thanksgiving dinner. Ahh.. yes. Him again. I did not say it I just should know the man has absolutely no regard for the fact that we may want to spend a Thanksgiving with the kids. When they were minors it was a given that they would spend Thanksgiving with us but then he re-married and the rules changed. Civility went out the door and in stepped in selfish behavior.

I gather my son knows that too because he said, "Write this on your calendar.. I am YOURS next Thanksgiving." I smiled softly and told him to just enjoy his day.. we will see him at 11:30 am...

You see, for the last several years we've gone to Cracker Barrel. There we meet up with another family and have an early dinner. We enjoy each other's company, talk across each other and over the table. We laugh and have a good time and then every one scatters. We know they all have my ex to go to, and significant other's families. It gets to be more of a chore than I remember Thanksgiving.

My son said he'd come with us though I told him I understood if he didn't. He'll try to come and have coffee. "I can sit and have coffee and talk with you all Mom!!" He could go home and catch up on some of that sleep he's lacking too but he's going to try and come with us. What he WANTED to do was come here and have smoked turkey. My husband will smoke him turkey for him another day.

My daughter will come. I did not think, now that she is an adult she was fond of the other family. But she kept pestering me to know if they would be there and finally I asked her why she asked, she said, "Mom, they are always there.. it wouldn't be tradition if they weren't there!"

So... here's to Cracker Barrel and all of those that will be with us even if only for a cup of coffee. Here's to all of you that stop by here and read all of this, and here's to the parade cause at the end of it Santa Claus will ride in on his sleigh and THAT is when Christmas starts!! Not in October! We have another son, technically my step son.. my husband's one biological son. Last year was my husband's birthday on Thanksgiving. Last year and this year this son goes out of state with his fiance and her family. I think since he sees us every day and can't see her family very often this is a wise choice. Kindof bummed me out last year since it was his dad's birthday too.. but this is what happens as children grow up.

My oldest daughter lives a couple hours away and works today. Then she'll go home and have dinner with her children. My oldest son, heck, I haven't heard from him in a couple years.. I only know that he's still back and still okay but unemployed. But he's okay!

So it is once they become adults. Pushed and pulled because as they become involved with other people, and have children they are pulled ever tighter. I remember DREADING the holidays because the dickering started over where we'd spend what holiday. I don't want to do that to them but now that I'm an adult myself, a parent myself, I understand why my parents and my in-laws pushed and prodded us.. They too wanted to spend special times with us.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of you!

Our economy is tanking. It must be because every time I turn the television on that is what I hear. However, my husband brought up a rather good point.

This has happened before. ( I have not lived in the United States all of my adult life.. so there are things I don't know. ) It will happen again. What we have MORE of is news. It's on every news channel, every news broadcast. It's in papers and magazines. Heck, it's even on talk shows!

So then his question as well as mine is that if this wasn't in the news quite as much if it wouldn't eventually resolve itself as it seems to have done other times? Is the constant news and talk about the economy not a big part of the problem causing a tendency to panic which of course makes it worse.

Maybe I'm wrong but I know, for me, myself and I.. ( sounds like somehow there's a hint of self importance there? It's meant to make sure that it's understood that I speak for nobody else.) when there is bad news on and it's on over and over again it DOES start to affect my decisions.

The very best example of this is when the sniper was going around shooting people. Every day I listened and prayed the two would be caught. As each day turned into another day I became more and more inclined to stay in the house. I didn't need to go out and risk being made a target. The LIKELIHOOD of me getting shot were to be honest extremely slim.

One day my husband decided he'd take me for a ride going further south. His plan was we'd stop in to a restaurant we'd heard was good. That would remove me from the place that I'd begun to fear. Surprise! Guess who also chose to go south? We weren't aware of that at the time and for whatever reason decided not to risk going to a new restaurant, we went to one we were already comfortable with. Thank goodness because the snipers were at the restaurant we had gone to.

I guess my point is, that if I listened to the news, if I made a decision based on what I hear like I had done with the sniper, it would be a panicked choice. One that is a direct result of the news I hear. Yes, I DO feel it in my pocket. Yes, our business is hurting and so are we but if I keep reminding myself, this isn't a first it won't be a last then I'm okay. If I keep reminding myself that the last time I made a panicked choice based on the news I did actually risk putting my husband and myself in the wrong place. So, I'm going to choose to pay attention. But I know there has to be other news happening in the world that makes this seem trivial.

I also know there are some very good things happening in the news that we aren't hearing and THAT is exactly what we do need to hear!!

Pay attention to the news as needed but make sure you grab and hang on to the good things that happen in your life..

I just remembered the most important and comical part of my daughter and her misadventures (karma) with her room mate.

She was complaining because the room mate will pull my daughter's clothes out of the drier and just toss them on my daughter's bed. And.. I know she doesn't like it. She has nursing uniforms and other clothes that need pulled out of the drier and hung up or they wrinkle terribly.

Only, if she needed the drier before I was done using it my clothes would be in a pile on my bed. Not folded, just heaped there. When I finally interrupted and pointed that out to her she told me she did it because I did that to her.

For the first time she actually HEARD me say, "I can't carry your clothes upstairs so I put them in a dining chair." It had nothing to do whether or not I wanted to take her clothes, neatly folded, up to her room.. it had everything to do with not being able to do it.

Her clothes were always folded in the dining chair. Well, at first they were. But when mine were repeatedly just dumped on my bed, I quit folding them, only flattened out the uniforms and moved on.

Why not put them in a basket you ask? She had her laundry basket and mine up in her room with dirty clothes.. I had put her clothes in a basket once and didn't see the basket again until she moved out. So, that was just a little more of her not liking what she herself does.

A young woman sat on my couch the other day and as I listened to her I could picture just tacking on about 30 years and that was me saying the same things I've said so many times. Not only to my husband but in my blog and to her, my youngest daughter.

I speak of the one that lived here for a year. The one that took advantage of what she had here. Now living in her own apartment she did something so very typical of the girl I KNEW. A friend was having a hard time living with her mom but didn't have the money to move out yet. So, my daughter let her move in. Free.

This girl apparently isn't any more appreciative of what she's been given than my daughter was when she lived here. Susan takes whole glasses of the baby's juice to her bedroom and leaves it! Hmm.. I have rings on furniture my husband made for my daughter's room after she moved out the first time. Coffee cups and baby cups all left to sit on our furniture and ruin. Not to mention, WE paid for that stuff! The list goes on, but just read back in my blog when I write about her, the conversation was the same just with different people.

My daughter will be able to cover rent with the next paycheck but nothing more. Not gas, food anything else. "I told her this Mom, I told her I didn't have money for gas. Now keep in mind she lives here free, but I drive her to and from work too! And all she could say was, 'I might have twenty dollars.' Can you believe that Mom, where's her money going?" Her voice was raising in pitch as she said this. Her frustration was almost overwhelming her. "She's living there free and SAYS she only has twenty dollars?"

This went on for an hour. I could not wait for my husband to get home. The two of us did something we haven't done in a very long time. We talked about events in my daughter's life and we laughed. We were pleased with her for once because she is helping someone but every word that came out of her mouth were things we've said over and over in the past year.

Karma... it's a comical thing isn't it?

I have bills set up to be paid. It'll come out of the check over draft protection. Hopefully I can get money in the bank before the checks actually clear.

So, as you can imagine life isn't exactly... spiffy but we're trying to make it and trying to stay afloat. In the meantime, unlike us with our business we are not at the Capitol trying to get a hand out. We are re-working what we do to keep going. We are changing the way we pay our subcontractors. We are trying to stay afloat any way we can.

Clearly the impact of our business going under is not so great as the auto companies so why would the government pay attention to us? What I need is a private jet, a 28 million dollar paycheck and make little to no changes and perhaps the government will listen. Maybe that will work??

I just have a bad, bad feeling about this bail out mess. These companies know where they screw up why not change their practices before asking for money? The American Way.. work hard, and earn your own way. In America you can be anything you want to be if you set your mind to it and spend years working to attain it. No matter how big or small what you end up with is something that is YOURS. Something you've carved your name in, a niche, a paycheck, a nice car.. whatever it is, it's yours not the government's. You can take pride in a job well done. And no amount of money, no government hand out can give you that.

So, I digress as I often do. I think if the government bails any business out it should only be in a way that will keep those hard working individuals with the paycheck they earned. I think FIRST.. before money is given to a company they should agree to let an auditor in that can go over the companies finances. One that can strip funds for private jets. One that can have a CEO paid according to the business' performance and ability to pay it's workers. If you need to ask for a hand out from the government you have not done your job because if at all possible, you should have a contingency plan. For us, a very small family business that is so small it doesn't last long. For the auto industry, if their CEO's didn't have forsight.. strip them of their pay!! Don't ask for money from the government!!

It kills me to see on the news a lady four years from retirement, looking like she squeaks by a living and someone is getting paid MILLIONS of dollars.. If the company has the money to make those kind of massivly huge salaries then maybe they out to rethink that plan and let some of that money be paid to the people that BUILD the cars. Not the ones that sit behind a desk but the people that are the backbone of those companies.

I, myself wouldn't want bailed out. I would expect that if the government kept me afloat the government would own our business until we've paid that debt off and to be honest I don't want the government in my back pocket owning the keys to everything we worked so hard for.

I hope the lesson everyone walks away from in this mess is that the American Dream is EARNED... it's not handed to you by doing wierd crafty number crunching. You must qualify for a loan, with ID, jobs and a good financial history. Cause this mess is sure hurting those of us that did do everything right and that sucks.. Just.. sucks.