What a weekend . . .

Robert left me for the weekend. He went to D.C. for the peace march that I mentioned before. He had a nice time and I stayed home with all 3 kids alone. My mom and I took them out to eat on Friday evening and then did some shopping for Robert's upcoming birthday. The kids were very well behaved, but my mom looked frazzled by the time we were done. LOL

Saturday I stayed true to my word I didn't get out of my pajamas all day! It was glorious. I did however do a bunch of laundry and cleaned a little. I have a funny story about the washed from earlier in the week. . . when the washer went into spin cycle on Wednesday, it was making this horrible scratching-screeching sound. It sounded like something metal was hitting and scratching up against the drum. I was irritated because it was only one month out of warranty. I called a repar guy and he was out in a matter of a couple hours. When Robert called to give me a report he was laughing. I had a lang drywall screw in my pants pocket the other day, apparently it went through the wash and ended up poking through one of the holes in the bottom of the washer tub. It was the screw that was making the noise. I paid $60 to have a repairman open the lid and reach in to remove a screw! ARGH! But I am happy that I did not have to buy a new washer. . .

Sunday I was terribly depressed that I didn't have any football to watch . . .

Today I had to rescheduled Harrison's tonsilectomy for this week instead of at the end of the month since he can barely breathe in the night. It is almsost like sleep apnea and he wakes himself up from the snoring as well. His tonsils are so big that they touch his uvula and gag him. He has lost nearly 5 pounds in the past month because he struggles with swallowing. He gags most everything up. So . . .we are off to the surgery center this Wednesday to have those puppies yanked out.

ON the Dustin front, his behavior is just plain crappy. I was so looking forward to this new midication and it definitely has stopped the hallucinations, but his impulsivity is horrific! He cannot control himslef in he very least. The doc has added yet another medication tonight. We shall see. . .

Excited . . .

My life seems to be getting better . . . knock on wood. I have rented the apartment to a really nice family. . . big load off. Dustin is doing pretty well on the new medication. He is acting up at school and we had made some corrections with the medication, but he is SLEEPING. And that, my friends, is a great thing! Sleep disorders in FASD kids are awful since they have to be under constant supervision. Kari blogged about the same problem today, and it is not a fun thing.

Robert is heading to Washington DC tonight with a bunch of people for a rally tomorrow sponsored by United for Peace. He is looking forrward to that and I hope for a calm relaxing weekend. Mom and I are taking the kids out to dinner tonight and I don't plan on getting out of my pajamas tomorrow!

The Colts are in the Superbowl and all is right with the world. . .

More. . .

I didn't get enough Replacements with that last clip. I needed this one to remind me of all those days at Columbia Street West in the 90's watching every cover band in the area do this one . . .

Old times. . .

Here's one from my days at the skatepark checking out all the cute little skater boys. I loved to sit and watch them fly on the half pipe. I even got to meet several of the more famous skaters like Bill Danforth, Tony Hawk, Jeff Kendall and others. . .


This one is fIREHOSE. . .

Strange . . .

My husband was doing some researce on the Manning family this weekend. He found an interesting tidbit. . . Peyton Manning grew up in a home between Anne Rice, of the Vampire Chronicles fame, and Trent Reznor, of Nine Inch Nails fame. If you know anything about these two you would ask yourself. . . How oh how did he grew up so "white bread"? Just funny.

It's a mindset . . .

I have been majorly stressed lately. I have a lot on my plate right now and everything is not working together. I have tried to get myself together, but it hasn't worked too successfully. Yesterday I decided that I would try to let things go and stop worrying. That is difficult with my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but it can be done (along with some extra medication)! I made sure that I organized a few things last night that were weighing on my mind and I got a good night's sleep. Today I decided to wear some new shoes that I bought just for fun. I decided that if I had a differnet outlook, maybe I would feel differently. . .

Here's to an uneventful day!

The game that was . . .

Wow. What a game. I thought it was a goner early on, but had hope that my boys could pull it out and comeback to win. I didn't think it would be as nerve-racking as it became. After that good rally at the end of the first half, the crowd got back into that game and the boys got back into their stride. Much was said later about what Dungy had said in the locker room and they all said it wasn't "magic" just talk of execution. They had to execute the plays to get the yardage, and they definitely came back onto the field to execute!

The first drive of the second half yielded 76 yards in 14 plays resulting in a touchdown and they kept matching New England's scores until the last minute of the game when the Colts took the lead for the first time in 59 minutes.
That 3 yard run by Jospeh Addai (who I have said all year is my new favorite, and was a fantastic replacement for Edgerrin) cinched the Colts lead. The "comeback king" Brady still had time to work the ball up the field, but a field goal would not tie the game. But the "clutch" got stuck. Brady threw and interception right into the hands of Marlin "not of the Jackson 5" Jackson and clinched the victory. Nice! I love that it was Brady who handed us the win and I love that it was a defensive player that finished off the game. What a way to give our defense that has truly stepped up to the plate in the playoffs some much necessary confidence. I will remember that interception and the picture of Jackson diving on his back holding tight to the ball is forever etched in my mind.



There were many more wonderful plays and memorable moments. The offensive line touchdown on the fumble recovery by Jeff Saturday, the quarterback sneak on the first touchdown for the Colts, the Klecko (a former Pat) touchdown that resulted in the 2-point conversion to tie the game the first time and that play by Reggie Wayne as he recovered his own fumble before he or the ball even hit the ground.



The pure excitement and joy shown by all players especially Dungy and Manning, should have washed away any doubt that nay-sayers had about the Colt's being a Superbowl caliber team. Yet, today on NFL network I heard some fool talking about how San Diego and Baltimore have a right to be proud because they are better teams. He says that the Colts are not the best team in the AFC, that they were just lucky. What does it take for this team and for Peyton to get the recognition and the respect they deserve. There will still be those who will still say it was luck and they are not the best team even if they win in 2 weeks in Miami. Sad.

I can't decide what I am more excited about. The fact that they are going to the Superbowl or the fact that they stomped Tom Brady and the Patriots. Or the fact that they did it with the help of Adam Vinateri.

I am excited about the Superbowl, but today I will revel in the apparent disgust on the face of Tom Brad, the dejected attitude of Belichick after the game and the victory dance of Dwight Freeney.. Apparently sweater vests are better than sweatshirts. . . Go Colts!




*all photos from Superbowl.com

Nice realization . . .

Last night Dustin was laying on the couch watching TV in the "kids room". (We have a second family room downstairs that has a small couch and a TV mounted on the wall. It's nice because since we have to monitor Dustin closely, we can keep an eye on what he is watching and what the other two are doing as well.) He pops off the couch at about 10:00 last night and starting frantically looking around. It seems he has lost something. I ask "Dustin are you okay?" He replies with a puzzled look , "HEY! Have you seen my friends?" (He has been hallucinating for about 3 months continually and has a very "real" world made up that he communicates with them in.) I said, "Well, no. But I don't ever see them. Don't you see them?" HE says, "No, I haven't seen them all day."

SUCCESS. It may be a little success, but I'll take what I can get. At this point he had only had the new medication for one day and we had already seen progress. We also saw him sleep 12 hours last night apparently only waking once. He slept so hard I couldn't even get him to wake this morning. This is a child that once his feet hit the floor he is off and running. His poor little body must be making up for lost sleep and he seems to finally be resting comfortably. I will keep my fingers crossed that it continues to get better.

Chlozaril rocks . . . for now.

Drugs . . .

I will never complain about having to sign a book to get Sudafed again. It is ridiculous trying to get Chlozaril! First of all, our normal pharmacy doesn't even carry it. They told me it is too much trouble to do everything necessary to fill the script. The problem is, they didn't tell me this until 8:00pm tonight instead of 3:00 this afternoon when they knew this.

I went to pick up the script and the bloodwork that the hospital lab faxed over so that I could take it to another pharmacy and they initially refused to give it to me. Okay, let's see . . . you won't fill it, but you won't give it to me to get it filled elsewhere. Well, after hollering and nearly swearing I finally got my information and headed off to the other place.

The new pharmacy would fill it but had to make a call to a database first. They had to register my son with this national registry before they could fill it. The registry needed the bloodwork and other information. They will process it, call another place and verify the script and then they will call back to tell the pharmacy it is okay to fill it. Whew! I wonder how much it costs.

I'm still waiting to see if it will happen tonight. . . we'll see.

New medication . . .

The psych visit went great. The doc is putting him on the "mother of all anti-psychotics", chlozaril. I am happy that a change was made, happy that he listened, but concerned none-the-less because we are talking about a very seriuos medication. He had to get a blood draw done today and they will only give us 7 days of medication at a time. A blood draw must be done before we get another weeks worth. We will have this weekly blood draw continued for 6 months, then every other week for 6 months then we can go to once a month.

I hope that this will completely eliminate the hallucinations and allow him to function at a higher leve than he is currently. He has been given such a bum-deal in life and I hope that we will see a brighter future. I went from worried and frustrated to hopeful and positive in about one hours time. . . Maybe I need some new medication!

S-T-R-E-S-S . . .

Super stressed today. I am so terribly stressed. My son with FASD, Dustin, has had a difficult time sleeping since his last hospitalization about 3 months ago. We have tried every possible combination of timing with the current medication and we have reached a dead end. We need something else. This doesn't sound like a big deal to most people. But adding a new psychotropic drug is a BIG deal to Dustin's fragile chemical balance. I don't think the doctor wants to do it. But WE all need sleep. I cannot sleep well knowing Dustin is awake because I have no idea what he will do. He is impulsive and has no concept of consequences, so I am constantly vigilant.

That combined with the fact that he is STILL hallucinating is unnerving. He lives in a world that we cannot see. He is always talking to "someone" or "something" that he perceives as being real. I hate it. It freaks me out. It can't be healthy for him.

I do not want the doctor to suggest hospitalization again. I'm not ready for that. His behavior at home isn't that bad right now. The last time he was hospitalized is when the doctor suggested residential care. That did not go over well with me, and I am concerned he will go there again with that suggestion. Not acceptable.

My own fears and worries come to the fore-front when I have stressful times like this due to my own OCD. I tend to ruminate over worries and get quite frustrated and anxious. I need to relax, but my disorder won't allow it. I just want a resolution, and I want it NOW. It doesn't help that I have apartment for rent that I MUST rent soon, I hate winter and I have a situation at work that has me on edge. Aaaaaack!

News . . .

Pretty soon you will be hearing about a large property purchase in our fair city. There has been talk of it for some time, and was even mentioned in the newspapers a few months back. It involves the property that was originally owned by Calvary Temple Ministries on the corner of Lima Road and Washington Center Road.

The Paino family were pastors at that particular church for many years and a church split happened in 2003 after allegations of financial issues and indiscretion of the pastoral staff . The Paino family went on to found Carroll Road church, from which they recently resigned after Paul C. Paino's marriage to Sharon Carney last fall. The congregation that was left formed Lifebridge. It has been a rocky road with a lawsuit by the Paino family, a foreclosure on the building on Washington Center. Both churches that formed from the old Calvary Temple have since gone on to build new buildings.

The Washington Center Property reverted back to the hands of the Assemblies of God Financial Services when it didn't get enough money at a sheriff's auction last year. At this point, First Assembly of God on Coliseum Boulevard began to actively search for a buyer for their building. A seller was found and was courted over the past few months. That seller was courting another buyer for their property.

Today the dominoes all fell. In a joint closing, Saint Francis bought the piece of property across from the university that was owned by Abundant Life Ministries. They in turn purchased the land that First Assembly currently sits on, and that left First Assembly open to buy the Washington Center property. The Washington Center property will undergo extensive renovation since most of the building behind the new 3,000 seat sanctuary is old and very outdated and will house First Assembly as early as this fall.

The crankie threes . . .

My daughter has the most annoying habit. When she is upset at me or her daddy she she screams, very loudly, "I want my Nanny!" (My son called my mom Nana and we were Mama and Dada. When we became Mommy and Daddy, she became Nanny)

The funny part is that her Nanny doesn't baby her at all. She is just as tough and fair with her as we are. McCartney thinks it is a good thing to scream because she wants her own way and we are the ones not giving it to her.

The original O.C. . .

I love Social Distortion. All this reminiscing and getting back with old friends has got me listening to all my old music again. After almost 30 years, several treatment programs and many new members, Social Distortion still rules. Mike Ness is even still performing. He last performed at a charity function for Wheels for Humanity last month along with a veritable who's who of the punk scene. Here's a SD favorite of mine . . .

A new year . . .

I can't believe it is 2007. What a crazy year it has been. . .

We started off January with Dustin being admitted to the psych hospital for the first time here in Fort Wayne. It was both frightening and necessary. He spent 14 days in the hospital and was released only to return 10 days later. The positives . . . our we finally saw our son without any medication and our psychatrist had a far better idea of what we deal with on a daily basis.

In February I nearly sliced the end of my "pointer" finger off with an exact-o knife doing a proect at work. It was not fun! My son, Dustin, turned 12 and my mother had the first of 2 cornea replacement surgeries. My husband turned 51!

March was awesome as I joined a support group for parents of children with special needs. Dustin also spent the night at church with about 200+ kids for an overnighter. This was a true treat as we can't ever do anyting like this. He had a "shadow" the entire time and was great.

April brought with it nice weather, a trip to Camp Casey in Crawford Texas for Robert and a case of Scarlet Fever for Harrison. My pup, Cayenne, was hit by a car on Easter weekend, but did really well recovering after a brief stay in the pet hospital. Robert also lost his aunt Anne to cancer.

May was a month of funerals. We attended my aunt Mary's funeral and Robert lost his uncle Jr. It was a difficult time. We added rats to our pack of pets . . . my little babies. And Harrison turned 4.

June began my crazy summer hours. It also brought us a couple big storms. One storm brought a lightning strike that fried our fuse box, costing a pretty penny and then a day later we lost electricity to our block as trees fell all around us. We were without electricity for about 60 hours in a 3 day period. The tickets were also purchased for my first country concert . . . Kenny Chesney Labor Day weekend.

July was a month of reunions for me. The month prior I was given the address to a website that an old friend put together for us to post pics and get together. A bunch of my old friends contacted me and I reconnected with them a couple weeks in a row. What fun seeing old friends again.

August brought the first round of strep. I was hospitalized for a brief time and was given morphine for the horrible pain that I had in my head. UGH! The worst? The bill.

September opened with the Kenny concert at Verizon Wireless and I was finally exposed to country music tailgating! Woohoo. Met LJ and had a BLAST! MY baby turned 3! 3! Uncle Josh came to Fort Wayne and spent a week here. The kids loved having him here and I loved having my kids crawl all voer him and abuse him. And I was definitely ready for some football . . .

In October I fell through my bathroom floor. But, it made me find out that the shower had been leaking under the floor for years! And now I have a great bathroom. Dustin was once again hopsitalized to regulate medication for 2 weeks. School has been difficult this year, and the staff simply doesn't get it. The strep came back with a vengenance.

In November Harrison was quite sick and for a while they thought he had some rare illness. McCartney and I were the only ones to celebrate Thanksgiving and then I shopped my booty off the next morning with mom. The elections brought with it happiness with some of the turnouts in the county, and frustration with the sheriff's race.

December was productive and way too fast. We finally spent our Thanksgiving in Kentucky. Robert and I actually had dinner out with friends, that never happens! And, I had my Crass Reunion. About 150 people showed up and it was a wonderful time catching up with what everyone was doing! Christmas was great and I am looking forward to the new year!

And rest assured I'll blog all the juicy bits . . .