The eyes...don't have it.

The eye doctor says that her eyes are fine. *sigh* I was really hoping she just needed glasses, but no. He said, however, that there is nothing to indicate any kind of, um, bad thing, like a tumor. Ugh, I hate to even think that. There's no swelling behind her eyes. Okay, so tomorrow we have the appointment with the chiropractor. We shall see what he has to say.

I'm not doing the fast with the group. I'm feeling awfully raw emotionally, so I probably should, but I couldn't stay to worship with the kids because I knew I'd be a crying mess, and I just don't want to embarrass my son. (wow, long sentence) Anyway, I left him with a full tummy. We ate at Chili's as his farewell-to-food meal. Here are a couple pictures:

Mini burgers and onion rings, yum. Why does he look like it's his last meal? Because it is!!! (for awhile)

Yum, Dr. Pepper. Man, he's gonna crash when he gets really hungry.

Remember Rodney Allen Rippee? He can barely get his mouth around that burger!

Stuffed.

Have a blessed, beautiful weekend!!!

So, we're heading to the eye doctor tomorrow to check out the Princess' sight. I'm really starting to panic a bit about this headache. She does okay one day, and the next is barely able to lift her head at times (like today). Saturday, a "wellness chiropractor" is coming to our home to see her and adjust her. He came highly recommended, so I hope he can help with her symptoms. He recommended we get into the neuro for the diagnostics, and rule out anything, um, bad. Since the neuro doesn't think a young girl with a headache for weeks is urgent, we still have more than a week to wait for that appointment.

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'Member when I was talkin' about being "on program" with the weight loss thing? Well, it's amazing how quickly I can go "off program." If I'm hungry and not at home, there's no telling where I might end up...like A&W. Yikes. I've told The Prince that if he does his homework and has a good attitude about his class that I'll take him to lunch each Thursday after class. Today, his choice was A&W. Cheeseburger, onion rings, and a Diet Pepsi. Cracks me up. As if the Diet Pepsi will off-set the 3 billion calories you just ate. I'm again back on track now.

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The Prince and I will be embarking on a 30 Hour Fast starting tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. It's put on by World Vision, and the kids of our homeschool group decided to fast and raise funds to feed starving children. The Prince pledged to raise $250.00. I was freaking out a little. I'm very uncomfortable asking people for money, even if it's for a good cause. The Prince, on the other hand, doesn't mind asking at all. :-) Neither does the Gearhead. Thus, The Prince (with Dad's help) has raised (at this moment) $274.40. He beat his goal!!!! He still has a few people who said they would donate, so hopefully he can get to them this evening. So neat. I wonder if he realizes how hungry he's going to be. We are doing a "juice" fast, so will be able to drink juice now and then during the fast. That and lots of water.

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Please pray for the kids of Park Academy in the next few days. They range in age from 11 to 16, and most (if not all) have never fasted, much less for 30 hours. They'll be doing all kinds of activities together, and continuing to raise money for starving kids. They get to participate in several worship services, devotions and prayer time.

What to write about, what to write about....

The Princess spent the night at my folks' last night. They then went to the mall today, where she conned Grandma into buying her three cute tops. They ate lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, and then headed home. This activity from the headache girl. Amazingly, the headache was better today, but tonight, she's hurting.

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The Prince and I were home alone almost all day. I helped him with school, and we took a walk to Starbucks with the doggie. So, I actually got some exercise today! Our temps went up to the high 70s today, so there was no excuse not to get out there.

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On the weight loss front: I was up a bit a few days ago, but I started on program again, and am down three pounds already. I'm pretty sure I was retaining water, since I hadn't been drinking a whole lot for the past few weeks. I really, really want to see myself down to my target weight by the holidays. That's 35 pounds in nine months. I don't think that's unreasonable. I KNOW it's going to take exercise, which is the hardest part.

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Had a long talk with a friend today about kid issues. It's so hard to determine whether our early teenage kids are having hormone rages, or just plain ol' disobedience rages, or a combination. My take is that there's no excuse, even if they are hormone-induced. (Mean mommy, I know).

The Prince gave me attitude today while doing some school work, so I took away a sleepover we had planned for tonight. Yep, no warning. He smarted off, and it was G.O.N.E. It's amazing how much his mood improved after getting over the initial shock. And, he's been doing school tonight like it's going out of style.

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I have been very lazy lately on posting pictures and doing memes and putting my awards up. I've gotten two now, and I just can't bring myself to figure out how to do it! I will get to it, I promise. I realized I was going to post weight loss pictures many moons ago, but haven't, as well. That's because I get really brave, and then when I'm not posting, I think "Um, what were you thinking, dork?! You're going to post pictures of yourself for all the world (well, all 8 of you) to see?!"

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File this under: Weird things about Claireboe:

I have been sleeping on my couch since September when we remodeled our bedroom. The Gearhead has been sleeping on a twin bed in "our" room. Today, I decided that my aching back and neck could take no more...I set up our king-size Sleep Number bed on our floor, since the box spring is gone. Yep, I'm heading off to sleep on a bed! In my room!

'Night!!!!!

My friend, Sniz, asked in the comments what the status was on moving to Texas. I'd say the status is...hmmmm, that's a very good question. You'd have to ask the Gearhead, who isn't talking.

At least for now, we're staying here. There's a Catch 22 here: If we were to move, we'd have a lot of work (mostly completing started projects) to do to prepare the house. At this point, the Gearhead is working, working, working, working, working, all the time to make ends meet (we're still not). So, he wouldn't have time to finish projects. And before y'all tell me I can do it, let me assure you - I can't.

God still hasn't given a clear answer about the move, either. The Gearhead is actively looking for a better-paying job. He is talking with a friend that has his own company who'd like to hire the Gearhead as his right-hand man. He'd pay him very well, and the Gearhead would be able to use his people skills (which are underused right now) as well as his technical skills (which are vast).

My honest feeling is that the Gearhead wants to try and make it here. I think he feels a heavy responsibility towards his parents (he is the only child), who would move with us. Although they would follow us, I think it would be really hard on them in many ways. He experienced a traumatic move when he was a kid (within the state), and worries that the kids could have a similar experience.

I don't quite know how I'll learn to cope here. Everyday I read the newspaper, and there is something that turns my stomach, whether it's crime, or more construction locally, or talk about traffic (because it's pervasive here). I've already eliminated t.v. from my life, so I have to read the paper just to know what's going on in the world!

Well, this has been a downer post. Wait, let's turn it around!

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The Princess and I ushered at a small theater tonight, and we got to see "Dreamgirls" for free! It was put on by the studio that she attends for her dance classes. Many of the actors in the play were professionals. The entire production was well-done. I sure do love live theater.

The Prince went to the snow today! It's been his dream for a few years to go to the local mountains and enjoy the winter snow, but I'm not for driving in it, and the Gearhead isn't for the cold, so it hasn't happened. Well, some friends have friends (get that?) who own a cabin, and invited us along with some other homeschool friends for the weekend. When push came to shove, I chose not to drive it (chains were required), but I got a friend's family to take him. He came home with two sets of soaking wet clothes. Another friend who was there today said that The Prince and his friend were outside almost the entire time! He told me that I over-dressed him - that he was fine in a t-shirt! It was between 30 and 40 degrees out there!!

He is dying to tell me about his day, but it was late when I got home from the theater, and we're getting up for church in the morning, so I told him he'd have to wait until tomorrow.

Okay, so I ended on a high note! Yay!!!!

My Prince

The Prince is a very sweet kid. I noticed that I don't talk about him as much as The Princess. I think it's because he's lower maintenance. She is non-stop with the activities, and the friends, and the plans.

He, on the other hand, is kinda easy going in his day-to-day life. He likes to lounge around with the dog, talk on the phone, play video games, run around outside, visit the neighbors, hang out with the Gearhead. He wants to be a pastor when he grows up, and live in a mobile home, to avoid being in debt. He saves most of his money, but has been known to be very generous in his giving (tithing, as well as treating his sister or myself to a Starbucks, for instance).

So, this post is all about my Prince. Observe the following photographs, depicting the silliness that is my son:

The goofy begins.

Note the sister in the background. She was saying, "You'd better be careful! She's going to put those pictures on her blog!"

He obviously didn't care if these pics were going public.

There's a little of that sweet stuff.

Ah, yes, there it is. I love this kid.

We are already starting to hear his voice crack a little, sometimes. Pretty soon, he's going to sound like his dad. He won't get people mistaking him for me or his sister on the phone.

Just yesterday, he was born and doubled the testosterone in the house. He smiled the day he was born. I'd show you the picture, but we don't have a scanner, and it's not digital. However, there is proof.

He was a very easy baby. Slept through the night early on (and that's saying something for a breast-fed baby). He has a stubborn streak, yes. But, then, that's a family trait, I'm afraid.

Here's a funny story about The Prince and his stubbornness. The Gearhead wasn't much for taking care of the kids when they were little. If I had to go somewhere, I understood that the kids would be hungry and tired when I got home. One day, it was nearing dinner time, and Momma wasn't home. The Prince, who was all of 2 years old, told the Gearhead he wanted pasta. Actually, he said, "Me want pasta." The Gearhead told him that when Momma got home, he'd get some pasta. Well, The Prince kept insisting "ME WANT PASTA!" louder and louder. Finally, the Gearhead put him in his room, and told him he could come out when he had settled down.

The Prince spent a few minutes in his room, pondering his next move, I'm sure. He finally said, "Okay, Daddy. Me come out." The Gearhead let him out of his room, and The Prince promptly said to the Gearhead "You me gotta talk." Stifling his laughter, the Gearhead said, "Okay, Buddy. What?" The Prince, in all his glory said, "ME WANT PASTA!!!!"

He and his sister get along pretty well. There was a day, about a year ago, that he had a meltdown, right in the kitchen. They had been arguing fiercely about something. He turned to me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Mom, she used to like to play with me. Now, all she does is ignore me or yell at me!" I nearly cried myself. Things have gotten better since then. They share a love of music, and spend time together, with him playing keyboard, and her singing. Or, they just goof off together. In fact, their dad frequently has to break up the fun in the evenings (pillow fights, etc.) so they'll go to bed!

The Princess sometimes helps him with his school work. In fact, one day I was so frustrated with him that I had to walk away. I came back in the room to find her teaching him some math...and they were giggling. Over math. In this house. That, my friends, is a miracle.


Have a blessed day!

Status update

Weight: Up
Mood: About the same
Children: Royal (as usual)
Gearhead: Working
Work: Picking up (!!!!!)
Finances: Disaster waiting to happen

That is all.

Busy, busy, busy

Ack! I'm touching down for about 1/2 hour before heading out AGAIN. This was our day, so far:

Got up and rolling this morning. The Princess' headache seems to be better, but she still gets nauseous every stinkin' time she eats. She can only eat small amounts at a time, too.

I helped The Prince with some school work. We got out of here at about 12:45, dropped The Prince at Grandma's, and headed to a "motel meeting" for the curriculum The Princess uses. The company is based in Tennessee, so they have these meetings where you can go look at the curriculum and buy it at a discount, and with no shipping costs (though it is shipped). We got her some Science, Literature (9th grade level, since the books were better), and more Math.

Then we hurried over to a dance store that is closing to get her some new ballet shoes. Hers were wearing out. Well, since the deals were so good, we got: Ballet slippers (1/2 price), jazz shoes (1/2 price), three leotards, a dance bag that will hold all her stuff so she doesn't have to carry two bags, two pairs of tights, and a free umbrella! The umbrellas look like the one used in "Singin' In the Rain." Gotta love Gene Kelly.

THEN, we zoomed (as much as you can zoom in rush hour traffic in So Cal) to her ballet class. She was 15 minutes late, and came out with her head pounding. :-(

We picked up The Prince, came home, and are preparing to head out AGAIN, to take The Prince to church. He starts Junior High tonight! I hope he enjoys it as much as he's enjoyed "Preteen."

That's it for now!

Big time BLAHS

The Princess is still suffering from an awful headache. Going on three weeks. We have a referral in for a neurologist, and she's on antibiotics and steroid nose spray, in case it's a sinus infection.

She admitted to me today that she is really stressed about the prospect of moving. On one hand, she wants to move so we aren't so strapped for money. On the other, she doesn't want to leave her friends. The Gearhead is simply not talking about it. No movement, either way. *sigh* I'm wantin' to cry.

I talked to my dad last night. He said, "I'm just now hearing how much work you put into my party, and the scrapbook. You did a beautiful job." That was nice to hear. I have to get the scrapbook back from him to finish a few things, and I will post pics then.

Here are few from the weekend:

My uncle, Mom and aunt. Uncle C is my mom's brother, and Aunt N is his wife.

The Princess and Grandpa

That's the scrapbook they're looking at. The Princess still had a headache at this point, but most folks had left already, and it was quiet.

Blessings.

The party's over...

I'd be willing to say it was a huge success. Dad was appropriately blown away. My idea of having an "Open house" was the only thing that didn't really pan out. I mean, almost EVERYONE came at around the same time, but filtered out until about 7:30 p.m. Everyone was in the house, and it was getting so crowded! I told Dad "Go outside, and they will follow you!" :-) That did the trick. People realized there were tables and chairs in the backyard, and then it all flowed.

Dad loves his scrapbook, and spent some time reading it after everyone left. There was still too much activity for him to concentrate, so I left it for him to look at tomorrow. I'm going to add greetings from The Prince & Princess, and make pockets for all the cards people gave him today. I'm also going to print out the invitation on some nice paper and put it in the book.

My aunt and uncle from Kansas are meeting us for brunch in the morning, so the party continues!

We have tons of food left over, though the cake was the PERFECT size, so there are only about 2 slices left. Of course, those slices currently reside in my kitchen, along with two gallon size baggies full of sandwiches.

Sadly, The Princess hasn't been feeling well, and had a horrible day. She spent most of the party (including family picture time) in a bedroom asleep. :-( She's had a bad headache that the doctor says is likely a sinus infection; The Prince also has a sinus infection, and I just got over one. I got prescriptions for antibiotics that I haven't yet filled because of all the running around since yesterday.

Pictures to come. I'm too tired to do all that right now. And Daja, I will post pics of the scrapbook when I get it back from my dad. :-)

I'm in denial

It's 4:00 p.m., Friday, February 15. In less than 24 hours, I have to complete a scrapbook, run around to get food and party accoutrements, and get dressed and coiffed for the party. So, why am I blogging? Um, it's a river in Egypt, doncha know? I tend to leave things to the last minute, then go into hyper-mode (which includes a loud voice and spastic movements). So, here I sit, typing away, wishing that scrapbook would make itself.

If you're the praying kind, I'd appreciate prayers. I'm dealing with a sore neck from scrapping and didn't get good sleep last night.

Don't miss me too much

The next few days, I'll be consumed with my dad's party. My aunt arrived today for a five day visit. Dad finally has an inkling about the party. He told my mom "Something's going on." She said, "What?" He said, "I don't know. I just think something's going on." She said, "Yeah, we're going to Buca de Beppo for your birthday. That's what's going on." And rolled her eyes, and walked away. My mom isn't a very good liar, but she hopes she fooled him. Only two more days, and the deceit is over. :-)

I am madly scrapbooking all the cards, letters and photos I got from various friends, family and former co-workers to my father. I'm keeping it simple, but it's still a lot of work, I dare say. We decided on an aqua and brown color scheme. Well, to be honest, my awesome, rockin' friend Nat chose the colors, and had all kinds of other good ideas for the scrapbook. We're leaving four or five pages out for people to sign as a guestbook, which will comprise the first pages of the scrapbook. I'm going to have my kids do a page each, and then me and my mom and brother, as well.

I'll post pictures of some of the pages, if I think about it before Saturday. After that, the book will belong to my dad. :-)

So, I may not post for a few days. Then again, I just might. It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind, so there.

Oh, yeah, and Happy Valentine's Day. Whatever.

Life on the "should we or shouldn't we" roller coaster

The Gearhead is no closer to making a decision about moving to Texas. I think at this point, he's so overwhelmed with all the dynamics that he just wants to take a nap. :-) As I said before, I'll be fine either way. If we stay, however, something's gotta give. We will never pay off our debt on our current income. So, if we go to Texas, big changes will be occurring. If we stay in CA...big changes will be occurring. Ack.

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Oh.my.gosh. We had quite the dramatic morning here. You've all read about The Princess and her adventures in hair color, right? Well, she decided to go back to blonde. She was currently dark brown with red over it. It was pretty. We found a blonde color that claimed to lift a dark brown to a dark blonde. A friend who knows hair color advised against it. And I will tell you, SHE WAS RIGHT. The Princess ended up with the most hideous carrot orange you have ever seen. But, it wasn't uniformly orange. There were parts that were platinum blonde, others that were kinda brownish blonde, and everything in between. It was so bad that she cried!

We had appointments for hair cuts today (getting ready for the party, ya know), so I let her get her hair cut, and then the very nice girl fixed the color. She's now strawberry blonde with blonde highlights. I forfeited my own appointment for a cut, since I used all the money for her hair. She thanked me quite profoundly, but I told her the adventure is OVER.

Stupidly, I did not take any pictures of her orange hair! It was too traumatic, I 'spose. However, here she is AFTER the very expensive cut and color:

Cute, I know. She kills me.

Remember when I said the days here had been glorious? Well, one day when I was sick, The Prince was here with me, and was just itching to "do something!" I gave him my camera and said, "Go take some pictures for me!" This is one of them.

We don't often have those kind of stormy clouds. It was so pretty!

Next we have The Prince goofing off. He's growing his hair out a little, and can do all kinds of, um, interesting things with it!
This kid is really good-looking. Really.

I don't think I've ever posted a pic of the window-shattering doggie, Mel. He is so cute, but kinda dumb.
He's an Australian Shepherd mix, but I think he looks very Border Collie. We get lots of comments from people about how pretty he is. He often makes me really angry, though. Like, when my goddaughter came over tonight to borrow some tools from the Gearhead...and the dog peed on the *newly cleaned* carpet. Oh, yeah. He spent some time outside for that one.

Hey, it seems I'm back! Yay, me!

Blessings to you!

Still under the weather!

Yep, you read that right. I got over the flu (after a week) but it looks like it's moved into a sinus infection. *sigh* I'm tired of being sick.

My friend from TX has been visiting, though we've only gotten to see her one-and-a-half days. She has other friends and a stepsister here who she's been visiting also. We're headed out to the beach for the day to see her and her stepsister and niece, so that should be fun. Hoping the ocean air helps the sinuses.

The Gearhead has been in TX since last Wednesday, coming home tomorrow. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say about possibly moving. I think I finally have peace about it. If we stay, it'll be fine. If we go, it'll be fine. I've been trying to really observe this place that I live, and I know there are many things I will miss. It has been GLORIOUS the past few days, weather-wise. And as long as I don't have to be out a lot, I don't mind the congestion. But, that's the thing. I have two active kids that need to be shuttled everywhere (especially the Princess). So, I stay home when I can.

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I hadn't mentioned that my father is turning 80 soon. We're having a party next Saturday at my folks' house. He doesn't know that people are coming to celebrate his life that day! I can't believe we kept it a secret! He has old friends and family coming from Northern California, and old and newer friends from Arizona (I think) and locally, as well. My aunt and uncle (my mom's brother and his wife) are coming from Kansas! The party is an open house, so we're hoping we have a steady flow of people all day, instead of a bunch at the same time. The house isn't that big!

I did the invitations, and asked if folks would send a letter and a picture of themselves for a scrapbook for Dad. I got quite a few (and am still getting them), but now I have to put it all together! I'm going to keep it simple. I just wanted him to have something to keep to remind him of his 80th.

That's all for now! Thank you for all the well wishes. It's going to be a very busy week, but I'll be here as much as I can.

And the beat goes on...

Stomach churning. Head pounding. Body aching. Cough irritating. Fever raging. Yep, still fighting this bug.

Thank you for the kind get-well wishes. I'll be back.