Exhausted . . .

I am so done. I am beyond exhausted. This has been the worse week on record. Robert's leg injury is not one bit better since the ER visit last Saturday. He has spent all of this week pretty much on bed rest. When he isn't laying on the couch awake, he is sleeping off the pain meds.

I am having to carry the whole house myself. Robert is a stay at home dad for a reason. Our lives are incredibly chaotic having to have total supervision of Dustin at all times. Since Robert hasn't been up all week, I have had to do all the cleaning. laundry, cooking, supervision etc. Not only that, but I have a wicked cold, canker sores all over the inside of my mouth and a horrific sore throat. I am beyond grumpy and just plain tired.

Since his routine is screwed up, Dustin is pushing all my buttons. He doesn't behave well for me anyway, so me being his primary caregiver is not working. He is stealing food, messing with the animals, irritating the kids and pushing me clean over the edge at all times.

I just want to sit and cry. Today I wanted a nap more than anything. I could hardly sit in the chair without falling asleep. The two littles were playing upstairs nicely and Robert decided to take Dustin up for a nap with him. As soon as Dustin went upstairs he told the littles that I was going to nap downstairs so they came down and I didn't to sleep a wink. Wah!

Okay, enough whining. I just want my husband back up to par so he can help me out around here. I really shouldn't whine as so many more have it worse than I do, but it's my bloggy and I'll cry if I want to. . .

Holy mercy, I am done. . .

Holy cow! Done. Yay!
I will now take your accolades. Tee Hee.

Moooooo . . .

Truthfully, cow print, furry? What more could you want in a shoe? (Goodwill find $2.50) When I brought these home my husband said, "Honey, sometimes there's a reason things are at Goodwill."

Really big prayers . . .

Alright people. . . I am almost done with the blanket I am crocheting for McCartney. I hope to finish it tonight and start the scalloped edging. Do you know what this novice crochet-er is doing tomorrow? I am teaching dear sweet Amber how to crochet. Amber and I went to church together "back in the day" and she used to run a small children's clothing resale shop here in town. In fact she was going out of business when I had Harrison and I bought a TON of clothes from her!

Anyhoo, through the magic of the "internets" Amber read a comment I left over at Postcards From Insanity about children's wardrobes where I began bestowing heaps of praise on our local Goodwills that lead to a previous post here. Amber is a reader of Postcards, and had to see who in the heck was talking about Northern Indiana Goodwills. We reconnected and found out our lives have been oddly similar over the last few years. She and her husband have done foster care and adopted also.

Head on over and give Amber some love. Her darling angel is having open heart surgery in a few short weeks. She needs all the positive vibes she can get and a few prayers thrown in for good measure. Thus, I am teaching her how to crochet to keep her busy all those hours at the hospital.

Hmmm, by the look of the picture I stole borrowed from her blog, maybe I should see if you can crochet bows! ;)

Do you mosh? . . .

Last night we got a good 8+ inches of snow. The last time it snowed it started after I was already at work and I doubted we were going to get it. I wore heels. Not again. Today's shoe choice is yet again a Doc Marten. This time the ever popular black 7 eyelet boot. (Also a brand spankin' new Goodwill find many years ago for $4.00 - take that!) My favorite thing about these boots, other than the fact that my feet never good cold, is the tab on the back to help you get them on. It says, "AirWair with bouncing souls".

Tuesday's Shoes . . .

What self respecting ex-punk rocker wouldn't have a well-worn old pair of Doc Marten's? As much as I love having tons of shoes, if I had to pick one to wear all winter it would be these.


And to continue the "Sheri is a cheap-o" theme, I got these at Salvation Army a few years back brand new on their 50% of Wednesday for $1.50. I rock!

Shoes! . . .

I did this "25 random things" doohickey on Facebook and said that "I love shoes".

This started me thinking about my love of shoes. It's not quite as bad as it used to be. When we moved into our house in 1999 I counted and I had well over 250 pairs of shoes. My feet grew with both pregnancies and I now wear about 2 sizes larger than I did then. I had to start over with the shoe collecting.

Since I have kids, I no longer have loads of money to spend on shoes so I rely on Goodwill and clearance. I LOVE to find odd shoes that no one else has, so this works marvelously!

I decided I would post pictures of some of my favorite shoes as I wear them . . . so today is this pair.

I just got these from Goodwill this last Friday. $2.00! Cute huh? I really should've worn something warmer today, it's 11 degrees, but I they're super comfy. You will also see that I hate socks, so you'll see plenty of white feet . . .

I have huge clod-hopper feet. These shoes are 9 1/2!

Check out that cute brown velvet bow. I usually don't do bows on shoes, but it is cute with the plaid tweed.

Oh no you didn't . . .

Yesterday my family was in Sam's Club. Robert desperately wanted to get out of the house. Christmas Eve he slipped on the ice and hurt his groin muscle. He re-injured it last week chasing Dustin. He went to the doctor on Tuesday and got some meds. By Saturday evening he was in so much pain I thought he was going to pass out. I called his doc and he sent Robert to the ER thinking he may have fractured his pelvis or hip. No breaks, thankfully, but got some good pain meds and a really good shot.

Anyway, on Sunday we went to Sam's Club and stuck Robert in a wheel chair since he is supposed to stay off his leg. I hadn't really thought it through and once we got there I realized Dustin would have to push the cart while I pushed Robert. Not a good thing. I spent the whole time cringing because he kept running into my heels because he had to stay behind me. When he wasn't injuring me he was chasing McCartney and Harrison around, shouting at them and trying to run them over with the cart. I kept my cool and reprimanded him quietly when needed. All in all it wasn't the worst trip we've ever made to Sam's Club. (And definitely not like Kari's last trip *smile*)

We made it all the way to the check lane without wailing and then Dustin clocked McCartney in the head with the handle of the cart. She began hollering and holding a badly purpled forehead. I walked over and told Dustin he would loose his slushie if he hurt his sister again. He began to wail. And wail. Mortified, I walked over and finished unloading the cart. A woman, I will refer to her as Hag, approached me and this was our exchange . . .

Hag: Every time I have seen you in this store, you have been giving this poor boy a hard time, you need to give him some space. (not kindly, but seriously foul)

Me: Ma'am (I wasn't too pissed yet ) My son has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome from his birth mother drinking while she was pregnant. He has no control over his actions unless I do it for him. You have no idea what he or I deal with on a daily basis. You really should mind your own business. (Now I'm getting pissed)

Hag: Oh! (looking shocked) I had no idea. He doesn't look retarded.

Me: No he doesn't seem handicapped but he is and that's why you shouldn't judge people that you see in public.

Hag: Well you looked like you wouldn't cut him a break, I mean he was crying and he is too old for that. I was trying to help.

Me: Well, it's so not your business if I was. You really shouldn't assume that just because my child looks normal that his behavior is because of my parenting. (Now I'm really pissed and banging my food on the conveyor belt)

Hag: Well, Well . . . (thinking of something to say) my mom was in an orphanage and was chained to a toilet.

Me: (incredulous at the crazy woman) Okay. You need to walk away and mind your own business.

Cashier: Man, some people are so rude.

Wow. I think my blood pressure was sky-high!

This historic day . . .

So many more have said far better things than I could. I shared the experience of the inauguration with 100 other people gathered together at a local church that was being used by the local Democratic Party and MoveOn.org. It was amazing to see history happen. I cried . . . again.

I spent my day talking to fabulous people and serving food to people who were not only hungry for CHANGE, but hungry for pizza!

A monumental day!

Baking diva . . .

I am helping work at our Obma Inaugural event tomorrow. Tonight I made 5 dozen cupcakes. Do you remember the post a few days ago when I said I didn't bake? Yeah, well, apparently I do now. I am not sure what I was thinking when I offered, but I got them done! Now, as long as no one dies from my cupcakes I'll be golden!

I am without words . . .

"The is no obstacle that can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change. That is the belief with which we began this campaign and that is how we will overcome what ails us now. There is no doubt that our road will be long. That our climb will be steep. But never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease but by the right we di when the moment is hard. I ask you to help reveal that character once more. And together we can carry forward as one nation and one people the legacy of our fore fathers that we celebrate today. Thank you America and God Bless you."

Barack Obama at the Inaugural Celebration

The man reduces me to tears again.

Furry fun. . .

We are dog sitting for a friends dog again. He is the best behaved and loving dog ever! Last time Robert asked if we could paint Cayenne and send her back stealth-ily and keep Bogart. She would have to gain about 50 pounds!

Bogart's mom and dad sent his brush with him so I decided to brush him. He loved being brushed so I busted out my Furminator. What is a Furminator? A miracle dog de-shedder. It is awesome. If you check it out on line and watch the video it is truly that good! Marla hooked me up with the Furminator and it was well worth the money.

Bogart is a big boy and we have the small Furminator, so it took a while but he loved it. He even started snoring. He didn't have a whole lot of extra fur, sometimes we can make vwhat looks like a large raccoon out of Cayenne's extra fur, but he feels so soft and looks so good!

A budget saver . . .

I love to read Postcards from Insanity. This week she was blogging about one of her vices. Her 4 year old daughter has a closet to die for. She is trying to change her shop-a-holic ways. Her daughter has clothes by designers I didn't even know existed. She spawned a conversation about how much parents spend on their children wardrobe. I mentioned Goodwill.

I don't know about the rest of the country, but Northern Indiana has the BEST Goodwill stores on the planet. They are pretty good about weeding out articles of clothing that are too worn or stained or ripped. Of course it takes time to go through the racks and bins of clothing but it is so worth it on a limited budget. The rack clothing is $2.50 and stuff in the bins is $.95. At least once every 6 weeks or so they have a 50% off sale on a Friday and Saturday. On days that are not 50% off they have great coupons on the back of a local grocery store's receipts.

My mom is a rabid Goodwill shopper. She probably stops at a Goodwill at least every other day. She has kept my kids in clothes and shoes for years now at such a phenomenal price that it has become her obsession. On 50% off days we usually try to hit all 5 stores in town. I stock up on good stuff that are too big and catalog them in the attic in bins for the next season or the next size change.

Today we went to 3 stores on a 50% off day. I was just in the attic this week and found that we are pretty out of options for McCartney. She has very little up there for the next size. I thought I would illustrate the kind of deals we get by listing what we bought today . . .

McCartney
1 pair Guess capri khakis
1 pair of Children's Place jean capris
1 pair of snow-pants
1 pair of Candies tennis shoes with sequins and flower pattern
1 Arizona velour jacket that matches a pair of pants she already has
1 pair of snowman flannel pajama pants
1 Abercrombie T shirt
4 short sleeve polos from SO
1 short sleeve Mudd shirt
2 short sleeve Children's Place summer T's
1 short sleeve Energie T
1 short sleeve Old Navy T
1 Happy Bunny T
2 summer tanks from Circo
1 Children's Place mini skirt with shorts under
1 denim mini skirt
1 long gypsy skirt with cute sparkle trim
2 long sleeve knit shirts from Children's Place
2 pairs of Gap sunglasses
2 pairs of shorts
1 pair of Children's Place khaki cords
1 Children's Place dress

Dustin
1 Old Navy Long sleeve polo
1 Old Navy short sleeve polo
1 Old Navy long sleeve shirt
1 Children's Place long sleeve plaid button up shirt

Harrison
2 pairs of jeans (Levis and Lee)
1 long sleeve plaid shirt
2 long sleeve knit shirts
2 short sleeve T
1 summer tank
1 pair of Nike shorts
1 long sleeve Wes and Willy knit shirt

Various
2 packages of kid hangers - 10 each
8 board books for the church nursery
1 leopard print CD holder
1 See-n-Say for the church


Grand Total : $43.05

Seriously. Why would you shop anywhere else? This is not even mentioning the LOADS of clothes my mom got for my nieces and nephews. We did all this in 4.5 hours. We rock!

Snow Day Fun . . .

Once again we have wicked bed head . . .

How cold is it . . .

Windchills of 40 below zero.

Fun with balloons . . .

Cute eh?

I promise . . .

. . . this won't become a crocheting blog! I did however see a really easy project over at Little Birdie Secrets and decided to try it for a scarf. I finished this hat and scarf in about 3 hours, while getting up a hundred times to tend to the kids and while watching new episodes of Supernatural and CSI. ( I am so happy new TV is back and my DVR is filling up! ) I used a HUGE needle and doubled the yarn, fast and easy!

Best Friends . . .

. . . okay maybe not.

AnnMarie rules . . .

Okay, how tired are you of hearing about my afghan? Then close your ears. AnnMarie, who wandered over here from Kari's blog, mentioned something in the comment section a couple blanket posts ago. I was struggling with the 100% cotton yarn unwinding with every loop I made. It was really frustrating this beginner. I was snagging pieces with almost every stitch. That's where wise, bright, awesome, and fabulous AnnMarie comes in. She informed me that if I was using the yarn from the outside of the ball it was the "wrong" way and it may unravel. I started a new ball today and fished and fished for the inside end. I could never find it before but I was determined this time. I prevailed and it is TOTALLY easier because it does not unravel. Yay!

Coming along . . .

A little less than half way done.

I did it . . .

I am a horrible mother. I hate to bake. My mom likes to bake. She makes a killer chocolate chip cookie, the world's best sugar cookies, breads, cupcakes, and these yummy turtle brownies. I have never liked to bake. I don't even like to do those place n'bake cookies. I usually burn everything because I get caught up in doing something else.

Today after church I came home and fixed lunch and then we took the kids sledding. It was a blast. We had never done that before. They loved it and I enjoyed hearing them squeal with delight. We didn't stay too long because I also enjoy feeling my toes! It was cold!

I came home and began thinking about how horrible it was that my kids had never been sledding before. I took McCartney in the kitchen and we made cupcakes. Cupcakes people! Call your neighbors, alert the media. Sheri baked! AND I made homemade icing, we even colored it. You may ask, "Why did you not have to go to the store. If you never bake why did you have a cake mix, cupcake liners and confectioners sugar?" Well, I always have good intentions! The cake mix actually expires next month. Do you know how long those things are good for? It must have been in that cabinet for a LONG time. I think the cupcake liners may have been around since I was in high school last month. *giggle*

Anyway, I think my mother status is improving. Don't hold your breath. . .

I updated our family picture blog if you are interested.

Behavior Mod . . .

I had a talk with an acquaintance, for lack of a better word, who just got a job in her field. She works at a place for special needs kids and adolescents, kids with organic brain issues and similar diagnoses. I think her degree is in psychology or something of that nature. Anyway, I was just talking to her about her job and we got on the subject of behavior modification. She said something about changing their behavior to resemble "normal" behaviors.

I had a long talk about behavior modification and how it would not work for kids like my Dustin. (who would be eligible for this program she works in, but we have opted not to deal with yet another placement - especially one with violent kids exhibiting their outbursts for him to model) I just could not make her understand that kids who have "broken brains" cannot always be MODIFIED to make good choices.

Sigh.

Cindy made a great comment today. One of her children would love to play soccer for his school. It would be a wonderful outlet for him and something he could be successful at. His grades are not good enough so that probably won't happen. She said, "A carrot on a stick just doesn't work with kids whose wiring has been physically damaged either in utero or in their early childhood that was so severely lacking in either structure, safety, nutrition or nurturing." Far more eloquent than I, but exactly what I was trying to say.

This person also said something that raised my ire and at that point I had to walk away. She said, "During that ice storm a mom called as soon as we opened to see if we were taking kids. She wanted to dump her kid off so she wouldn't have to deal with them all day. We told her to keep him home and learn to deal with him there, since he IS hers." OH MY GOSH! Before I walked away I made the comment that NO ONE should be allowed to work in a field such as this if they have not lived with a child with special needs. "You" have no idea what it's like to parent them 24-7. Or even how their brain works unless you see it function in a family and on an hour to hour basis. And maybe that kid needed routine, or maybe mom needed a break which is what the center is paid for! Zoinks.

I must say this is a good person. She is young, naive and recently graduated with all these clinical ideas. I hope she sees the real world soon. I would LOVE to have her babysit, and I would conveniently forget to give Dustin his meds that day. Tee Hee!

Bedtime . . .

Bedtime sucks. It has always been an issue around our house. I hate it. It is getting better. Typically when it's my turn to patrol the upstairs, we sing. Torina talks about singing Rock-n-roll with her kids at night too.

Tonight they were cracking me up so I did a little video. We don't sing anything kiddie, tonight's selection was Uncle Kracker. It's not the best lighting, and Harrison has some serious bath-head, but enjoy . . .

Working . . .

I am about 1/3 of the way done with McCartney's blanket. What in the heck was I thinking using 100% cotton yarn. Yes it will be fabulous and organic, but oh.my.gosh the yarn un-twists each and everytime you loop it. Wow, it is crazy difficult.

I do like it alot though. The cat will not leave the footstool while I crochet, and he is constantly trying to snag the yarn. Occassionally I will wrap the yarn on finger and it will be just a tad bit wet. Eeeew, cat slobber.

OCD . . .

Dustin woke today with three small bites on his right ankle. He came to me and said he had a rash. All day it was fine. About 10 minutes ago he found the spots again while in time out. He began itching. Well, of course, they are driving him nuts. Thus, he is driving me nuts.

After hearing about how much it itched about 300 times in 6 minutes I told him "of course it itches, they are probably spider bites."

Wrong. Thing. To. Say.

Now, not only is he itching with his fingers and rubbing his leg on the footstool in a crazy obsession, he is freaking out that they may be bites from "poisonous spiders". I am now hearing, "Mom, check on the Internet about venom spiders!" "Mom, they ITCH" "I think my leg is poisoned, is it gonna fall off?!" Oh my gosh! They itch like a dickens!" (my personal favorite) He swears the spiders were poisonous and his emotions are ranging from vehemently claiming he is dying to crying that he doesn't wanna die. OCD! Oh so much fun!

All of this is of course at about double the decibels as usual. Lord have mercy!

And now, McCartney decided to make popcorn in the microwave and pushed to popcorn button for a snack size bag. We are all being gassed out with smoke and burnt popcorn smell. . .

Progress . . .

I'm heading over to my step-brother's house today for a family post-Christmas gathering. I am taking my project. I am goingto be one of those crazy old women who crochet on the bus, I just know it.