The good, the bad, and the ugly

I'll do these backwards, so the post ends happy rather than sad!

First: the good...it's Christmas! Tyler is so excited, he can hardly stand himself. Tonight we'll be making Reindeer Munch and baking Christmas cut-out cookies. These are the same cookies I've made nearly every year of my life...Mom's recipe is the best! We'll decorate them tomorrow night, and Tyler will select the two best ones to leave for Santa. This year, he wrote his very own letter to Santa, rather than "dictating" to me as he has done in the past. It's in his stocking, so when Santa comes he can read it and leave what he can. Tyler understands that Santa's sleigh doesn't have room for everything! :) Needless to say, I'll be scrapping that letter into his book.

Next: the bad...our trip to Disney World for Christmas has been cancelled (see "the ugly"). Tyler knows nothing about it, so there's no disappoinment on his part,thankfully. We're hoping to go for either Spring Break or during the summer. We'll see how it goes.

Last: the ugly...our neighbors, Deborah and George, were the ones taking us with them to Disney. George is part of the Wounded Warrior program, and they gave him a one-week trip to Disney to be used whenever he wants it. The program pays for the three-bedroom condo for a week, and gives them free one-day passes to Disney. They asked us to join them, since they had such a large place to stay. We heartily agreed, and have been looking forward to it for about a month or so. Now, insert the ugly part. George's father was sent to the hospital for the fourth time on Monday morning...he's been trying to conquer pneumonia since before Thanksgiving. The last I heard, he had been transferred into the Critical Care Unit, was going to be put on a ventilator, had spiked a fever of 104, and the entire family has been called in. I have had no update today, so I'm not sure what's going on at this minute. I thought a specialist was coming today from Birmingham to do a lung biopsy.

So, the ugly is definitely very ugly, created the bad, and we're now concentrating on the good.

Oh, and I have to shop at Wal-Mart tonight after Tyler goes to bed. Turns out we were going to give him the trip for Christmas, and Santa was providing the wrapables. Now, no trip AND no gift from Mom and Dad. I figure I'd better get something, lest he think we're losers!!!

Can I get a little more stress, please????

Ugh. So, I'm selling my horse trailer, and trying to look for the deal of the century on a newer one. That's frustrating. I have to get up into the attic and drag out the umpteen boxes of Christmas decorations...then I have to put them up. I love having them up, but love it more in January when all that clutter goes back into the attic. I have a horse show this Saturday. I haven't been to a show in about 2 months. Thankfully, Ranger is at the point where I can just get on him and go, without worrying about his form or him paying attention to me. My job with the neighbors has changed, and long story short...I'm getting less than minimum wage to work my tail off. I'm not happy about that, especially since I don't HAVE to work. So, the barn owner and I are going to talk early next week about me doing more for her out at the barn. Everything I earn is credited toward my board fees, so that's nice. However, waiting until early next week to talk to her, since she's out of town, is going to make me insane. I'm not the most patient person on Earth.

So, as if that's not enough stress...let's add some more!

Monday night, my faithful old washing machine died. I have had this washer and dryer set for 18 years. Yes, you read that right. 18 years. There has NEVER been anything wrong with either of them. The washer started acting up when my parents were here earlier this year, and Dad got it back on track for me. But Monday night, it died. Sigh. I never thought I'd be sad about it, but I am. Thankfully though, I have an awesome husband.

He took my stress away. Well, at least part of it. Tonight, we went to Home Depot and ordered my new Maytag washer and dryer. They'll be here Tuesday. YIPEE!! The delivery company will take my old washer and send it to the Great Laundry Room in the Sky, and my old dryer will go out to the barn (the one out there now is awful). I'm so excited!

Some more exciting news...we're going to Disney World! Our neighbors got a condo for a week for free down there, so we're all piling into their Suburban on December 27th and going to see Mickey and Co. Tyler has NO idea. I'm going to get a Mickey Mouse helium balloon and wrap it in a box. When he opens the box, Mickey floats up with a note on the string that says "Tyler come see me!". Then we'll fill Ty in on the details. I cannot imagine the magnitude of his Happy Hopping when he finds out! I'll have to make sure to videotape it for posterity!

Otherwise, there's not a whole lot going on here. The weather is okay during the day and freakin' cold at night...this morning we woke up to frost.

Tyler got a haircut today...finally. This morning he woke up with Squirrel-Boy hair, so I took him after school. He looks so cute! This week, we'll all dress up nice, set up the camera and take a family photo to use for our Christmas cards. I bought Piper a little elf costume...it's a ruff for around his neck and a hat that velcro's on his head. I'm not sure if he'll wear it in the photo or not; he might be too humiliated to look at the camera! :)

Well, I'm off to search the internet again. Looking for a good deal on a trailer is actually harder to do than I thought it would be....

We're still alive...

Tyler's birthday party was great! I sent 14 invitations to his classmates, and only two of them showed. What is it with these people?? It worked out well, though. The party room we had was probably too small for all the kids to fit into. Our neighbors and their daughter were there, another couple that we know through them, and their daughter and her family. Their son is one of Tyler's good buddies. All in all, it was a fun time, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Tyler got some nice gifts, and was a very happy boy. We did take pictures, but they're still on the camera (which is new) and I don't know how to download them yet. When Marc gets to it, I'll post the photos for you.

The weather here got cold...I know...wah, wah, wah. It's cold for us! It's sad when I think 57 degrees is warm! It got into the lower 20's a couple of nights; folks are saying it hasn't been this cold this early in the year in decades.

I'm working both jobs right now. I'm at the barn 2-3 days a week, and at work 2-3 days. I kind of adjust my schedule based on what I want to accomplish, and where. I love that it's so flexible!

I'm selling my horse trailer. Sigh. I love this trailer. I bought it when we lived in DE, from my best friend Stephanie. This trailer has moved our stuff a couple of times, and hauled Ranger a lot, to shows and trail rides. Suddenly, the Old Fart decided he wasn't getting in it anymore. I think it's a combination of things...he's physically bulked up, and therefore wider in the butt and shoulder, so he may feel cramped, and he's been in other trailers that are bigger and lighter-colored inside, so he may have just discovered a preference. Either that, or he's being a 24 year old, spoiled and stubborn horse who gets pretty much whatever he wants.

So, my little trailer is officially for sale, and I'm shopping for a bigger one. The great thing is that I have all the time in the world to wait for "the" trailer for me; our barn owner has a trailer that I'm allowed to use whenever I need to. That's great, because it takes the pressure off.

School continues to be great for Tyler; on his last progress report, he aced everything (again). The other day, he sounded out the word "brilliant". I thought that was quite ironic...

Marc's official package (resume) for his application for promotion to Major goes up in December. It'll take a few months to find out if he made it or not, and then it'll take forever until he pins on the new rank and starts getting the paycheck. I know he'll get promoted; he always freaks out with these things because there are limited slots available, and he's competing with all the other Captains in the AF that are eligible at the same time. I read the letter that his commander wrote for his recommendation, and he basically said they'd be stupid NOT to promote Marc. So, I think it's pretty much in the bag. I'll keep you posted...

For those of you that are American Idol fans, here's some advice: go buy the new David Cook CD! It came out last Tuesday, and I bought it at WalMart for $14. I am NOT kidding you when I tell you that I LOVE every song on it! He did a wonderful job on the album, and I would've paid a bunch more money to get it. Needless to say, he needs to go on tour so I can see him perform live! I also love the new David Archuletta song, but have not purchased the CD yet.

Marc is hunting this weekend. He was really excited...he hasn't been deer hunting since we lived in SD!! He's with our neighbor, George, and another friend of George's, down at the farm. They left Friday after work, and return Sunday afternoon. I know George got two deer right off the bat, but last I heard, Marc and Elvis were still sitting in the tree stands waiting. Our cell phone gets no service down there, so I have to wait until Marc gets home to find out how he did. I don't mind the hunting...I just don't want to eat it. It's like fishing...I can bait my own hook and cast my own line...I can even clean it myself if I have to...I enjoy fishing...but I'm not eating that nasty thing!

I'm off to bed. Tyler and I went to see a movie tonight...Madagascar 2...totally hilarious! We loved it; but now I'm exhausted and ready for sleep!

A picture of Ranger

This was taken a week and a half ago, on our ride through Tuskegee National Park.

I'm going to steal one of those "wide load" signs off a semi truck and paste it to his ass...

I figured it out!!

Not that it was that hard, but I didn't know where to start! So, here's the picture of Marc and Tyler....AKA Buzz Lightyear and Woody!!

I'm such a slacker!

Okay, so I routinely check the blogs of my friends, and am always so sad when they haven't posted anything lately. Yeah. Then I realized I hadn't posted anything either. Slacker!

Things have been good here. Marc and Tyler had a wonderful time at Halloween...Tyler was Buzz Lightyear and Marc was Woody. They were so cute! I wasn't home...I was at the barn for the party and costume contest. Ranger was a bumblebee. People really enjoyed his cute costume, and Ranger didn't really care that he had pipecleaner and pom-pom antennae attached to the top of his halter. I was walking him around the arena for the "parade", and I asked him if he thought he should learn how to "buzz"; I'm not kidding you when he shook his head NO!!! Too funny...I swear he's part human.

Marc's feet were doing well with the new orthotics, but are bothering him again. This poor guy just can't get a break! So, he'll probably have to schedule another appointment with the podiatrist. The good thing is that the doctor is AWESOME, so we know he'll continue to do whatever he can to make Marc more comfortable. I told Marc he just needs to ask for a bilateral foot transplant and get it over with!

Tyler and I got our flu shots today...talk about one sad little boy. It went very quickly, and he freaked out because he saw the needle right before it made contact with his shoulder, but overall did better than I expected. I thought he'd try to crawl into my shirt with me to get away from the Mean Nurse.

Tyler continues to read like a champ! He's sounding out words that I never thought he'd be able to, and he's amazing both us and his teacher.

On a crappy note (or good, depending on how you look at it), Tyler does NOT qualify for PT and OT services through the school system. Apparently he's too good. At first I was really, really pissed, because they're supposed to provide services for those who need it. Then, after some explanation, I realized that he doesn't qualify because his limitations do not affect him academically. He can perform virtually all of the tasks he encounters in the classroom, he can participate in P.E. and out on the playground. Outside, on the play equipment, he shows that he understands his limitations, and recognizes the need for personal safety...he won't go on anything, or up anything, that he's not comfortable with or doesn't have help with. So, his self preservation skills are quite sharp, and therefore he's not in any danger of hurting himself.

So, back we go to the hospital on the other side of town (20 minutes one way) once a week for therapy. We do what we have to do of course, but damn! It would have been really nice for him to get services at the school. It would've saved us time and gas. Ho hum.

I am extremely pleased that he's doing so well. One thing the school OT said was that his left arm/hand are about as good as they're ever going to get. That ticked off both Marc and me. Neither one of us will accept her opinion; we've seen Tyler come way too far in almost 6 years, and we know he can continue to improve. What bothers me about her comment is this: what if she says that to parents who aren't as involved with their child's issues as we are? Do they just take her opinion as "gospel" and give up on their child? I understand that she may not want to tell parents to expect miracles with the therapy, but good Lord! You can't say that's as good as a kid is going to get...how do you know that??!!!!! Can you tell that it really bothered me??!!!

Breathe....

The weather here has been wonderful...low to mid seventies during the day and in the fifties at night. We haven't had much rain, but are expecting some this Friday.

Speaking of Friday....it's our 10th anniversary!! Can you believe this man has put up with me for ten years already! It seems like yesterday when we got married...jeez, time flies. We'll go out for dinner Friday night (we'll take Tyler with us), and then on Saturday Tyler is going to our neighbor's house for the day...and we're going on a big honkin' trail ride! Yes, Marc is finally going to go with me on a psycho-crazy ride. He's borrowing one of the horses from the barn and I'll be riding Ranger. The last time I went to this place is when Ranger ran my right ankle into a tree and then slid downhill into the trees...and wound up wearing me around his neck like a scarf. My ankle is still screwed up from that! I'm really excited that Marc is going with us...now he'll see that I'm not embellishing the details about these rides. I think he'll have a lot of fun, and it'll be awesome for him to see what Ranger and I can do together.

I have officially completed ALL of my Christmas shopping. Scary, huh? I had to order some stuff for Tyler's birthday, so I decided to save myself some shipping costs later and just get everything now. I cannot explain to you how relieved I am that it's done already. I'm sure the UPS and FedEx guys are going to think I'm nuts...

So, Tyler's birthday is on a Thursday this year, so we're having his first official true-blue birthday party on Saturday! I'm so excited! It's a Scooby-Doo party; that's what he picked. We're holding it at the local mom-n-pop pizza place, and let me tell you, what a deal that is! For six one-topping pizzas and three pitchers of soda, it's $36!! Additional pizzas are $8 and pitchers of soda are $3. We can decorate the area any way we want, and there's a game room for the kids to play in after they eat. There's also an all-you-can-eat buffet for anyone who wants that instead of pizza...and the place will only charge $8 per person. I'm pretty sure I've spent more on the decorations/supplies than I will on the facility/food.

Side note: Mom and Dad, it's the pizza place you went to with us here in Millbrook.

I'm working at the barn more these days than I am with my neighbors. It's a "dry" time of year for the type of work we do, so the work for me is scarce right now. So, I spend those extra days at the barn, working off my board. In the spring, though, I'll be stupid-busy, and will probably be lucky to get to the barn twice a week!

I'm going to post this now, and then dork around a while to see if I can figure out how to post pictures...

Report cards and road trips

Tyler got his first ever report card last week! I never thought I'd be so excited to see it, but I totally couldn't wait to pick him up from school and whip that sucker out of his backpack! Needless to say, the world's smartest boy ACED everything! The report shows what they've learned thus far, and what they'll learn the rest of the year. Tyler knows all of it already. It's stuff like count to 20 with 100% accuracy. Yeah, he can count to about 50, probably higher but that's about when he loses interest in counting for Mommy. It's recognizing and writing the color words, being able to sound out words, stuff like that. Tonight while reading to Marc, he read the words elephant, dinosaurs, airplanes, whales, skyscrapers, and universe. I'm telling you, the kid blows us away every day...I can't wait to see what profession he goes into.

I found out that "Disney On Ice" was coming to Huntsville, so I bought tickets and we spent the weekend up there. It's a 3 hour drive, and a relatively easy one. We took Jill, our GPS, which was gifted to us by Marc's parents. Thanks a ton for this amazing technology Mommy and Daddy; it's worth it's weight in gold! We use it all the time. It's name is Jill because when you look at the programming screen, each language is assigned a name, and American is Jill. That, and we don't personally know anyone named Jill, so when one of us says "go get Jill out of the drawer"...we know what we're talking about. Even Tyler calls it Jill!

The trip up to Huntsville was nice...until the belt blew out on the passenger side front tire, and we had to pull into a gas station to put the spare on. The car is Grandma's...and it's a 1996 model...and these are probably the original tires. We weren't really surprised it blew, but thankfully it happened on the trip when we were all together, rather than when I was trying to high-tail it to Tyler's school to pick him up! :) We used Jill to find us a tire shop...she found us 3, but they were all closed. On a Saturday. At one in the afternoon. It was quite odd. So, I spied the roof of a fairly new building way off in the distance, and told Marc it looked like a new Wal-Mart. Apparently my Wally-World-Radar was working that day, because we drove that direction, and lo and behold, there was a brand-spankin' new Wal-Mart. We got the one tire replaced, and went on our merry way about an hour later.

Our first stop in Huntsville was a cool kids science museum called Sci-Quest. It's a totally hands-on place where kids go to different stations to learn about some aspect of science, using the experiment at the station. One was pumping air into a tube filled with water, to try to get the little plastic diver inside to sink to the bottom; one was creating electricity by pedaling really fast, which would light up a series of lights in front of you (Marc not only got all 6 lights on, but they were as blinding as the sun...I guess all those spinning classes paid off!); one was static electricity...and the list goes on. We were there for 2 hours, and I'll bet there were at least 50 things to play with. They have a birthday party room and snack bar, too. It was relatively cheap; I think it was $26 for the three of us, and you can be there as long as you want. Tyler had a blast.

We then checked into our hotel, got a bite to eat at a buffet place (which pretty much sucked), and then headed to the arena for the Disney show. At this point, Tyler still has no idea what he's going to see/do. We walked in to the building, and of course there are booths set up everywhere selling crap for tons of money, and he saw the sign ahead...Disney on Ice. He almost flipped out! I was just so excited he read the sign by himself! We bought him a little stuffed Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) and a plastic sword with Peter Pan on it. The total was $27; how disgusting is that?!!

The show was AWESOME...if you ever have the opportunity, go see it!!! The story line flowed nicely, it kept the kids attention, and they did an intermission about 2/3 of the way through so the kids could get up and walk around or go potty. The costumes were amazing...Sebastian the Lobster from The Little Mermaid actually looked like Sebastian! I was very impressed with the whole thing, and was truly sad when it was over. I'll definitely go again someday. And let me tell you...those people skating were amazing...not one slip or fall, and they were doing some really professional-type stuff. It was a very nice evening.

We slept in the hotel, which was very comfortable and quiet, and only $40! Gotta love off-season. Then on Sunday we drove around and found a few stores we wanted to check out, and then headed back home. Tyler's last "surprise" was a stop at PetsMart, to buy a fish he's been asking for. He had one in TX, and it went to the big aquarium in the sky before we moved to AL, and he's been wanting another one for a couple of months. So, we have another Betta, which is red and blue, and Tyler named him Quincy (one of the characters from his favorite show, The Little Einsteins). We finally pulled in the driveway at 5, which was nice, because we got unloaded, laundry washed and put away, dinner, play time, and relaxing before bedtime. It was a really nice weekend, and Tyler had SO much fun. And Quincy has himself a nice big tank, compared to the little cup he came home in, and he appears to be enjoying it!

I have a big trail ride coming up this Saturday, and Marc and Tyler will be heading over to the new Best Buy to drool over the TV's.

At some point, I'll figure out how to post a picture, and I'll be able to show you some of this stuff instead of trying to explain it.

ALSO, a quick "thank you!" to everyone who ordered something for Tyler's school fundraiser; he got enough purchases in his name to qualify for the much-coveted Glow in the Dark Scooby t-shirt! This fundraiser was something parents didn't participate in (as far as purchasing something is concerned), so I have no idea what you guys had to choose from, etc. We keep getting hit with these fundraiser things...we've had 3 so far...it's crazy. I'd rather just give the school a check for fifty bucks a month than try to sap everyone I know for a donation of some sort! So again...thanks so much for helping out The Boy. I'll post a photo of him in the damn shirt.

Time to head off to bed and read for a while. I'm reading books by Dick Francis; he writes mysteries that center around the world of horse racing...so far this first one I have is quite good!