Family Bonding

Monster, my youngest, moved to Arizona a year or so ago. He does that, gets itchy feet and moves. He's the one of my three who just packs up and moves, always has. I'm not brave enough to do that, I'm a Colorado girl through and through and can't imagine living anywhere else (except when it's below zero, then the thought flits across my mind).

Deejo and his family moved back to Arizona a year ago, after Monster did. Now, Monster lives with Deejo's family and it seems to be working.

That was a round about way of saying that I haven't seen my brother or my son in a while. Nebalee found us cheap airfare, so we flew out to spend a few days with them.

It was so good to see my Monster (and the rest of the fam, obvs). We spent one night sitting on the couch, watching hockey. I can't remember the last time I got to hang with him and yell at the TV.

Since we had some free time and wanted to go do something, we put on our thinking caps and came up with axe throwing. I don't know who had the idea, or even where it came from, but that's what we came up with. I got on Groupon and found a place nearby that was reasonable. Nebalee and I got everything organized and the next day, off we went.

We had a 90-minute session that included some very basic instruction and practice, then we broke up into teams and competed against each other. We started with two-handed throwing, to get the hang of it, then went to one-handed. Because I like to be able to do things ambidextrously, I tried throwing both right- and left-handed. Monster and Deejo also played along with the non-dominant hand practice.

Asset, Nebalee's daughter, was apprehensive at first and didn't really want to keep going after her first couple of throws. It's deceptively harder than it looks. But then she got the hang of it. She got the hang of it so well that she was the only one on our team to put any points on the board when we were playing 21.

Team Axcellent

Team Axekickers

Check out the witty, axe-themed nicknames

I was fairly confident that our team (Axekickers) was gonna kick Axcellent's axe, but they beat us two of three games. It's all good though, we had a great time and the games helped us get out of our heads while we were throwing, and get comfortable. The last game we played was "Survivor" and it was each person for themselves. I was feeling pretty confident, as was everyone else. Holy cow! Asset started off strong and kept going. She beat three or four of us in a row before getting knocked out. Luckily, we all had two lives to lose, so she had the opportunity to come back and redeem herself.

Asset had a bit of a rough start to the day, but stuck with it and started kicking everyone's axe. Monster took to it like a duck to water. The rest of us were pretty hit or miss. She and Monster probably threw the best, each with a handful of X-ring throws in a row. If I had laid down a bet, Asset or Monster would have been the two I'd put my money on to win.

Then Nebalee stepped up. Asset had just thrown three (or was it four) bulls eyes in a row. They stepped to the line together, mother vs daughter, and Nebalee threw her axe. It wasn't a great throw, but it stuck in the 3 ring. Asset threw her axe and I don't know what the hell happened, but her axe throwing mojo completely disappeared. Like - *poof* - gone. Nebalee had successfully knocked Asset out of the competition and had to face Monster, who had also been kicking everyone's axe.

Nebalee had her best throw of the day and ended up victorious. I'm sure if I was a better writer, I could write a tear jerker of a screenplay about how the underdog came from nowhere and beat the two best throwers with the best throw of the day. Just imagine the slo-mo montage with inspirational music as we watch her axe leave her hands and rotate toward the target. The crowd erupts in cheers and the loser gives her a heartfelt congratulations. Everything is right in the world.

The whole thing was so much fun, but there was one last throw I wanted to try: two axes at a time! If throwing one axe was fun, throwing two had to be twice as fun. It was.

Now, some people might raise an eyebrow at using axe throwing as family bonding, but it was incredible! I think that this is something we'll have to do on the regular. We don't have a nearby axe bar (yet), but once it opens, I'll be taking my other heathens for some mom/heathi bonding.

Leaving the Nest

Monster, my youngest, has marched to the sound of his own drummer for a long time.  Sometimes, doing so has gotten him into trouble (and not the "you're grounded" kind of trouble, I wish it was that) and, being a firm believer in natural consequences, I've tried not to fix things for him.  If he was smart (or dumb) enough to get himself in the predicament, he should get himself out.  He's realized that maybe some choices he made years ago are still having some repercussions and that maybe those choices weren't the best.

He has also realized that if he continues on the path he's on, nothing good is going to happen for him.  Being an impulsive soul, he came to my office the other day and told me he wanted to start fresh.  He wanted to leave Colorado and start over some place where not everyone knows his past mistakes.  At first I was upset and accused him of running away from his problems (ok, I still feel that way a little bit), but then as we were talking, he came up with a plan that I could get on board with.  Not that he needed my permission, seeing as how he's eighteen.

I thought back to what I did at eighteen and realized that moving away from home wasn't nearly as bad as getting married, which is what I did.  And then at twenty, twenty-one, and twenty-three I popped out three kids in a row.  Looking back on that, I realized moving away to start fresh wasn't so horrible after all.

I hope he can truly make a fresh start out in Kentucky.  He has moved in with a friend's parents, who were kind enough to tell him he could live there for two months while he looked for a job and a place to live.  I don't know these people, have never met them, and kind of get the feeling they think they're "saving" Monster by offering him a place to stay.  At one point that would have bothered me, people thinking that they could "save" my son when I couldn't, but it doesn't any more.  If they think they can control him and get him on the straight and narrow when I couldn't, more power to them.

Tuesday was moving day.  Monster packed his suitcase and backpack and Jay and I took him to the airport.

I don't care that he's eighteen and old enough to do this by himself, it was still hard to let him go through security by himself.  As I was standing there, watching him wind through the line, I worried about all of the things I should have told him or taught him about navigating the airport.  I worried about if he'd find his gate and board on time.  I worried about all sorts of things that were out of my control once he stepped into that line at the airport.

But mostly, what I saw as I was watching him go through security was my little boy.  The one with the big heart who could make us all laugh and warm the hardest heart.  The one whose favorite Jimmy Buffett song in the whole world is Jolly Mon.

First Apartment

Do you remember your first apartment?

What do you remember about it?

Ashinator and Monster got their first "very own" apartment this week and I went over to visit.  They literally only have their beds.  No dishes, nothing to cook with.  Pretty much their clothes, toiletries, and their beds.  Micky has a TV and some game system that they can play DVDs on.  But that's all.

So it started me thinking...I don't think I had much more when I moved out of Mom's house.  My waterbed and clothes, I think.

If I recall correctly, we scrounged up a TV from somewhere, but we only had two channels, so we watched a lot of SOAP and ARE YOU BEING SERVED? because that's all we had.

I do remember killing the cactus Mom brought as a house-warming gift.  I put it on top of the TV and was diligent about watering it, but apparently, that's a good way to steam a cactus to death.  Who knew?

We had an office chair of sorts, and I know we had a couch, but I'll be damned if I know where it came from.  I think it was our roommate's.

Slowly, over the years, we obviously accumulated what we needed to furnish the apartment, and I don't recall wanting for anything.  But when you're 18 and out on your own for the first time, the sense of freedom overrides minor inconveniences like not having furniture or dishes or even a trash can.

Wonder what the kids are going to remember about their first apartment in twenty years?

Catch-up Summary Post

I had mentally written individual blog posts for all of this, but ran out of time to get it all done, so here's a summary of the GunDiva/RockCrawlinChef household for the last couple of weeks.

Anniversary Gifts
Remember, a couple of weeks ago, when I posted about the perfect gift?  Lucky for RCC, he loved it more than he would have loved the mixer.

I got him the video camera he's been drooling over for a while now. 

It's a GoPro camera, specific for motorsports.  He's already used it to film a trip up to the Lodge and has big plans for it.

As for his anniversary gift to me - he caught me completely by surprise.  I was hoping for a Bosu, and you all know how much I heart the Bosu.  I didn't get one, but I'm not one bit disappointed.  What I got instead was a takeda cold air intake for Ripley. 

Now, I know it sounds like an odd anniversary gift, but I'm really having a good time with Ripley's mods.  Not only did it increase my horsepower and torque, but has already increased my gas mileage by three mpg.  Maybe once the new-ness wears off and I can keep outta the throttle, I'll see a bigger increase in gas mileage.

Ashinator Made It!
It was touch-and-go there for a while, but Ashinator pulled it out and graduated from high school.  I am so impressed with her artistic side, but that artistic side almost got her in trouble.  She focuses so much and puts so much energy into her photography, which is absolutely incredible, that she doesn't put a whole lot of effort into her core classes.  In true Ashinator form, she buckled down the last week of school and brought her grades up enough to walk.

Her graduation was at eight a.m.  Who on earth plans a graduation so blasted early in the morning?  Yeah, that would explain the ginormous bags under my eyes, but Ashinator looked amazing (as usual).

Grandma?  Not so much.
Can we say false alarm?  Cowgirl had her first "real" prenatal visit on Monday and turns out she's not pregnant, nor was she.  Despite my reservations about becoming a Grandma, my heart is broken for Digger, who had wholeheartedly embraced the idea of being a father.

Unfortunately, the news destroyed their relationship.  My fear was that they were getting married because of the baby even though they both denied it.  Turns out that's exactly why they were getting married.  No baby, no marriage.  Digger's gut feeling is that Cowgirl lied to him on purpose about being pregnant, as their relationship was on the rocks and they were all but broken up before she "found out".  I'm not sure what to think.  There were some inconsistencies about her pregnancy right at the beginning, but they were easily explained.  I don't know that she had any reason to lie or to go to such an extreme extent (scheduling a prenatal visit).  I think that she truly believed she was pregnant.

Monster's Sixteen
Yep, my baby turned sixteen.  It hasn't sunk in yet. Why is it that every time I look at him, all I see is my baby?  He's forever stuck at about four in my brain.  I just want to gather him up in my arms and not let him go.  Ever.  Being a teenager, he's not thrilled about that idea.  So I'll just have to rely on my memories of when he was much younger and a total cuddlebug.

Stalled Out
I've increased my workouts to five days a week, with two-a-days on two of those days.  Gymnastics Boy, who has now chosen the name Poquito Diablo, has embraced the challenge of getting me fit for Top Shot and has a whole new arsenal of torture. 

Still...I haven't dropped an ounce since May 6.  I'm slowly losing inches, but the weight isn't going anywhere.  My bloodwork from the 9HealthFair showed that I'm hypothyroidic and my fabulous Nurse Practitioner started me on thyroid meds.  Let's hope it helps me break this plateau.

Is This Not The Sweetest Thing Ever?

So far this Labor Day weekend has been pretty darn good.  Went shooting with Tara, took Monster up to the Lodge to work this weekend and got to shoot in a Defensive Pistol competition this morning.  I'd say this weekend has been fabulous!

Monster is my problem child; he's not always easy to get along with and has a huge chip on his shoulder.  He's my skater boy, attitude and all, has been in and out of trouble and chooses to live with his father's mother-in-law.  No matter what, he's my baby and I love him (even when there are times I'd like to kill him myself).

Then there are things like this:

...and this...

...and especially this...



...that make my heart so happy.

Estes has claimed Monster as her boy.  Monster can do no wrong as far as Estes is concerned - whatever he asks, she does.  When we arrived at the Lodge Friday night and walked over to tell the horses hi, her head popped up, ears forward and she made eye contact with Monster and nickered.  My horse barely nickers at me, but she was just beside herself to see Monster.  I ceased to exist Friday night.

In fact, watching the two of them, I felt the bond that they have and offered to let Monster ride her.  So here's the thing - Monster doesn't ride.  He's not much of a horse guy.  But he's definitely an Estes guy.

None of the other kids have ridden Estes - they've not been interested.  Monster, though, couldn't wait to get up on her...

Yup, that's my Monster up on my horse.  I had to borrow Bill's horse Ranger to go out.

Really, there are good days. 

And there are really good days.

And then there are perfect days.

Love you Monster and Estes - thanks for taking care of each other.

Happy Birthday Monster!

I can't believe it's been fifteen years since you were born.  I distinctly remember the day I realized I was pregnant with you; and once I did the calculations for your due date, realized that you were due two weeks after finals my freshman year of college.

The past fifteen years have been filled with laughter and tears, but I wouldn't trade it (or you) for the world.

I love you, kid. 

Always will.

Happy Birthday.

Monkey's Monday Minute

Ian at The Daily Dose of Reality asked several of us bloggers to join in on this extra special edition of the Monday Minute.  Michelle, one of our blogging buddies over at My Pixie Dreams, just received news that no parent should have to hear - her 16 month old baby, Monkey, has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
 
1.  How old do you act?
I've been thinking about this one for a couple of days.  I think I act old, or at least older than I am.  I don't mean to act old; it's just that I sometimes feel like I've got the weight of the world on my shoulders, even though I don't.  I think was born old.


2.  As far back as you can remember, what did you want to be when you grew up?
That's easy.  Firefighter, just like my daddy.  Guess what I'm not?


3.  If you were to write a book based on your life, what would the title be?
WHICH END IS UP?  I feel like I've spent my life trying to follow the bubbles to the surface.


4.  What's something you do that's considered "childish" by most?
Remember question #1, where I've always acted old?  I don't know that there's a lot that I do that's considered childish, but I do sometimes get all "cutesy" with RCC.  It makes me sick and I can't believe that it's me doing it.


5.  Write a story of a time when you or someone you know overcame great adversity. (Warning, very long story.)


Once upon a time a child called Digger was born.  Digger's daddy, granddaddy, aunt, great aunt and cousin all have a horrible inherited channelopathy called Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis (HypoKPP).  HypoKPP causes paralysis, either partial or complete, due to a lack of intracellular potassium.  Sometimes the attacks last a few hours, sometimes a few days.  And sometimes, it requires hospitalization and a ventilator if the respiratory muscles are affected.  In addition to not being able to move, the attacks and recovery from the attacks are excruciatingly painful.

Digger's mommy was on OrthoNovum birth control pills.  The pills failed and Digger's mommy ended up pregnant.  His mommy and daddy knew that Digger had a 25% chance of exhibiting the trait, 50% chance of carrying the trait, and a 25% chance of not inheriting the disease at all.


When Digger was a toddler, he used to complain about his legs being tired.  His mommy and daddy worried that Digger was exhibiting symptoms of HypoKPP, but then, all toddlers complain of their legs being tired.  Right?


Digger outgrew toddlerhood and ran headfirst into childhood.  He never stopped moving and his complaints about tired legs went away.  His mommy and daddy breathed a sigh of relief.  By this time, Digger had a sister, Ashee-butt, and baby brother, Monster.  His parents were worried about all of them having the dreaded HypoKPP and carefully watched his siblings for signs of the disease.  


Neither Ashee-butt nor Monster exhibited any signs of the dreaded disease in toddlerhood and with Digger's symptomatic complaints gone, their parents put the disease out of their mind.


The kids' childhood, despite their parents' divorce, was fairly uneventful.  They laughed, they grew, they played all manner of sports without a problem.


Digger loved wrestling and soccer and was exceptionally good at both.  When puberty hit, that all changed.  One morning while his Uncle Deejo was visiting, Digger woke up with his first ever attack.  It was a doozy.  The poor kid woke up a quadriplegic.  His mommy's worst fears were realized.  Yes, Digger had inherited his father's horrible, horrible disease.  His mommy and Uncle Deejo loaded him into the car and took him to the doctor, who knew that there was a chance he'd have the disease.  Digger and his family spent hours in the doctor's office as they tried to raise his potassium.  Slowly, very slowly, he regained control of his body.


That first attack was the beginning of a very long, very hard road for Digger.  The onset of attacks is always sleep, so the poor kid never knew if he'd wake up a paraplegic or quadriplegic.  Nor did he know how long he'd be a para or quad.  Sometimes it would be a couple of hours, sometimes it would be a couple of days.  Thankfully, he was never hospitalized for an attack, though there was a close call one night when he complained of shortness of breath.

The number and severity of his attacks took a toll on everyone in the house.  Sometimes his mommy was very mean because  she was exhausted from working all day and then being woken up in the middle of the night to give Digger his medicine and to re-arrange him into more comfortable positions.  Sometimes his mommy blamed him for not taking care of himself and taking his medications correctly, even though she knew it wasn't really his fault.  She was just tired and angry and hurt to see her child helpless and in so much pain.  On those nights when she was mean to him, she cried herself to sleep, but never let him know.  She was always very careful to apologize to Digger, because it wasn't his fault that he had inherited his father's disease.  

His siblings were also affected; they helped out a lot when Mommy wasn't home.  When she wasn't home, it was up to them to help Digger take his medicine and move him when he needed it.  It was hard on everybody, but hardest on Digger.


He was able, with help from a Home Bound Tutor, to finish junior high, but high school proved to be too much for him.  Digger and his mommy had tapped out all of the resources available to them by the end of his sophomore year.  He tried his hardest to go to school the traditional way, but it just wasn't going to happen without accommodation.  He dropped out of school in the middle of his junior year and took his GED.

As Digger emerges from puberty, he's getting better control over his disease and sometimes goes weeks between attacks.  When he does have an attack, they are now less severe and don't last nearly as long.  

Four weeks ago, Digger took a big step.  He enrolled in college and has completed his first class.  The ability to attend class at night will help him to succeed.  Even if he has an attack in the morning, he's usually recovered by late afternoon and will be able to continue to attend night classes.


What about his sister, Ashee-butt, and his brother, Monster?  They both exhibit mild symptoms of the disease, very mild symptoms.  So mild, that they rarely, if ever, interfere with daily living.


There's no cure for HypoKPP, but there is the ability to live a normal life (once out of puberty).  And sometimes, that's the closest someone can get to a Happily Ever After.

True Story Tuesday - Mommy Fail!

As always, thanks to Rachel and Mr. Daddy who host this little "embarrass ouselves" party each week.

Head on over there for some more horrifying, "I can't believe he/she did that, I'm so going to use this as a bribe/extortion against my blog buddies" stories.

Mommy Fail

Many years ago, when my children were still small and cute we joined my parents for a vacation to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  I was super excited because it was the first "real" vacation my children and I had had together (and, quite possibly, the last - after all, I was a struggling single mother of three who wasn't getting any child support.  Life is very different now).

Monster, my youngest, was seven years old at the time and  prone to not being able to sit still.  He still can't.  The thought of him strapped into an airplane for more than, oh, five minutes, was not a pleasant one.  But we were going to Mexico, by God, and he was going to have to sit still and not get us thrown off the plane.  Even he was worried about how he was going to get there alive.  I assured him I had a plan, for I know very well the virtues of the extra-label use of Benadryl, so I bought some cherry-flavored children's chewables.  I assured him that the Benadryl would just make it easy for him to sleep on the plane and that when he woke up we'd be in Mexico.

Worked like a charm.  Dosed him up when we got to the gate and by the time we took off, his little head was nodding.  Score one for Mommy.

A few days later, we went out on a party boat (no, that's not the Mommy Fail) for some snorkeling and a lunch at a "private" island (which must have been co-owned by about forty other party boats).  Then we sailed over to another island for a hike back into a pretty waterfall.  The day was going beautifully.  Well, except for the chaffing on poor Digger's thighs from the lining of his wet swim trunks during the hike (no, that's not the Mommy Fail either!).

On the way back to Puerto Vallarta, there was music and dancing on the deck.  We all had a good time dancing around, right up until Monster stepped on a bee and got stung.  He dropped like a rock and started crying (hell, I would have too).  One of the crew scooped him up, took him to the bar and ordered up some tequila.  He poured the tequila over Monster's foot, scraped the stinger out and then put a cotton ball soaked with tequila on the sting.  Monster was in heaven.  For the remainer of the trip, if his cotton ball began to look like it was drying up, we had to put more tequila on it.

We got back to the condo without any problems or any further complaints from Monster about his foot.  The tequila seemed to have done its job of numbing up the bite.

At bedtime, though, his little foot started to itch and burn, so I went to get the Benadryl.

As soon as he saw me with the Benadryl, he wailed, "I don't want to go to sleep!  I want tequila!"

And that, my dear blog buddies, was the Mommy Fail.

It took a long time to convince him that Benadryl was actually for bee stings and that the sleepiness was just a bonus.  I don't remember if we ever got him talked into taking the Benadryl or not, to be honest.

Yay!  Y'all've just read my 200th post!!!

I had no idea, when I started this blog, where it would go, or if it would go anywhere at all.

I was clueless about blog etiquette (still am for the most part - there are so many "rules"),

But I'm getting the hang of it.

I didn't know if anyone would read my blog, other than my family.

And then I got my first followers and they've been so loyal (Thanks K. and T!nK),

My own bloggy support group.

In the past year, new followers have signed up and stayed with me.

How crazy is that?

I've never done a give-away before, but I thought I'd give it a try.

Don't count on it happening often.

Unless TALES FROM THE TRAIL sells,

But that's a whole different story.

So...comment away...

Ten randomly drawn commenters will receive a copy of a book from my favorite GunDiva,

Tara Janzen.

Be sure to check back for the winners!

And, please, for the love of God, if you've never commented before,

Quit lurking!

You may miss out big.

Really big.

Thank you, everyone, for helping me celebrate my 200th post.  I entered everyone's name (well, except Allenspark Lodge) into a Random Name Picker provided by Classtools.net and chose ten winners, who will be announced tomorrow (Wednesday, March 24th).

Christmas Chaos 2009

Four Christmases in twenty-four hours.  Only ours went a whole lot smoother than the movie Four Christmases, Thank God.


Christmas #1: Christmas Eve
Our Christmas Chaos started Christmas Eve at Grandma Mary's house, which was, as usual, standing room only.  The key is to arrive early enough for butt space.  Christmas Eve is where having kids really pays off, because the kids can step and fetch while you protect your butt space.  If you arrive too late, you're screwed, you've got to find some place to stand and that just sucks.





Of course, the Chaos was controlled by my friend Amanda, who provided us with a good sized bottle of Apple Pie Hooch.  No shot glasses were to be found, but, hell, we're all family, we'll just share the bottle...





Sure beats the time, a few years ago, when we had a bottle of wine, but no corkscrew.  Being the inventive family we are, we drilled (yes, power tools were involved) a screw down into the synthetic cork and used the claw end of a hammer to pry the cork out.  We don't need no stinkin' corkscrew!


Christmas #2: At Home

We woke up bright an early on Christmas Morning.  Well, actually RCC and I were woken up early by Digger, who is well known for his sleeping in ability.  Color me surprised that he woke us up at ten 'til seven, ten whole minutes before our alarm was set to go off.  He was like, well, a kid on Christmas Morning.  In no time at all, he'd roused the entire house and we tore into presents.  We didn't get a tree up this year, which I didn't think would bother me because we went so many years without a tree, but after our amazing tree last year, I'm kinda sad we didn't do one this year.

Christmas #3: Off to the In-Laws

After our early morning, present fest, we loaded up both cars with the kids and the dog and off we went to RCC's parents for Christmas Morning with them.  Unlike last year, when his little brother was still asleep when we got there (what kid can sleep in on Christmas Morning?), Dallan was up and frothing at the bit to get started.  Christmas at RCC's family's house is much more sedate than the free-for-all that occurs at my grandma's on Christmas Eve.  But, Lord, my family is so enormous that if we did the one person open one present thing there we'd be opening presents until New Year's.

Christmas #4: To the Mountains We Go
After RCC's family's house, we packed up and headed to my parents' place in Allenspark.  My brother, Deejo and his family, had arrived from Arizona too late to enjoy the fun at Grandma Mary's, but were waiting for us at Mom's.  Well, sort of waiting for us.  They'd done the present thing before breakfast brunch, which we missed while we were at RCC's parents' place.  I was kind of sad and pissy that we missed the major opening party, but felt better when I found out that not everybody had opened their gifts.  I was anxious to see their faces when they opened their gifts from us.  RCC and I had bound our NaNo projects on Blurb for Christmas presents and I wanted to see their faces when they opened them.  RCC's parents loved them and I was hoping to get to see my Mom's face when she opened her present.  I got lucky, she'd been too busy preparing brunch to open her presents, so I still got to be there when she opened them.

It made me happy to see her so excited about the books, even if they're nowhere near being complete.  Monster and Deejo's kids tried snowboarding out back, but that didn't go so well.  The snow was too deep and they had to shovel out a path for the snowboard.

After the non-success of the snowboard, Monster, who cannot sit still, managed to talk his uncle into pulling him behind the car on a snow saucer.  Yes, I know, it's kind of illegal.  But it's also a whole ton of fun.  And we survived when we were kids.  He had a couple of colossal wipe-outs, but managed to survive with all of his fingers and toes and no broken bones.  I gotta tell you, this kid can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'.





We survived all of our Christmases and slept 'til 11:00 this morning.  Wow.  All that running around must have really taken it out of us, but I'm glad to have this running around to do.  I remember some pretty sucky Christmases, so I'll take the exhaustion of running all over God's green earth over some of our other Christmases.

Monster's in High School

Just got back from registering Monster for high school. Where on earth did time go? You know, I didn't have to send the others to high school until they were sophomores, but the school district, in its infinite wisdom, decided that they needed to move to a four-year high school. I realize that most of the school districts in the nation are four-years, but that doesn't mean it's right or that I like it.

Monster, as you know, moved to Arizona last year to "start fresh" with his dad. Well, apparently his fresh start got spoiled and he moved back in July. While he's still rambunctious and without a brain-mouth filter, he's been doing fairly well (at least to my knowledge). He asks to go places instead of just going (most of the time), is where he says he's going to be (when I call to check up on him), and is home not only on time, but early! He's getting tired of me reminding him that he can find trouble a mile away and join in, so he really needs to toe the line.

He seems to be okay going into high school. I'm uncertain. Maybe the "older" atmosphere will do him good; but I'm afraid that he'll continue to try to impress the older kids and keep getting in trouble. Only time will tell, I guess.

Here's hoping he's seen the light and chosen the right path...

2008 in Review

January started off as any other month - rough. I was cranky about being single and broke, which I can't blame on Christmas; it just seemed like I couldn't get ahead no matter what I did. Can't say I was looking forward to 2008, I expected it to be just like the years before.

February - still cranky about being single - actually ratcheted it up a notch with Valentine's Day coming. I hated Valentine's Day. Really, I was - for years - a raging bitch between November and February because everything is so "couple" and "family" oriented that it seemed like I was constantly being slapped in the face with my singledom every time I turned around. Add to it that Monster had been acting up at school and finances hadn't gotten any better - I was a PLEASURE to be around. Right up until I threw a temper tantrum a couple of days after Valentine's Day and did a search (again) on Cupid.com. Found an interesting profile for RockCrawlinChef so I sent off an eye-contact. He responded positively and we began daily email communication.

March - Monster was still acting up in school and had been suspended for trying to pass off Advil as Vicodin (idiot). Digger and Ashee-butt, along with the daily emails from RCC, helped keep me sane. After emailling almost constantly for six weeks, we decided to meet in person. Less than 24 hours before the face-to-face, Monster told me he was moving in with his dad. He ripped my heart, still beating, right out of my chest. Thank God for RCC; I had offered him an out, told him that my life was a shamble and told him that he probably didn't need all the drama in my life, and yet he still wanted to meet me. Came home from the meeting 5 hours later and Ashee-butt told me I was going to marry him. Silly girl, what was she thinking?

April - I'm twitterpated! No doubt about it. Stick a fork in me I'm done. Done. Don't know what happened, thought I had my heart guarded pretty well, but that damn RCC just rolled right on by my defenses and stole my heart. Took him up to the Lodge to meet the parents, to Denver to meet Staci, to my Defensive Pistol match, introduced him to the herd. Guess that boy's not going anywhere now.

May - Life just keeps getting better and better. In addition to falling in love (yes, I finally admitted it to myself - everyone else had it figured out, I was just a little slow), the equine love of my life, Estes, became mine. Estes is perhaps the only animal I could love more than RCC. He completely understands that because of the canine love of his life, Allie-bird. My baby, Monster, turned 13 and was abducted by aliens (how else do you explain the huge personality change from my sweet little boy to the teenaged Monster?).

June - Estes and I travelled with Mom and Ashee-butt to Salida to Julie Goodnight's ranch to appear on her show, "Horse Master with Julie Goodnight." While I was gone, Monster and his dad got into a big fight and Jim kicked Monster out of the house. RCC, God bless him, drove Monster to Loveland to pick up his stuff from his dad's and helped him move back into my house. Two days after I got home from Horse Master, RCC proposed. Guess Ashee-butt knew something afterall back in March. Wow, can life get any better?

July - Monster was initally a saint when he moved back home, but began to slide back into his old habits and things got a little rough at home, but I handled it a lot better than I had in the past. Just having someone other than Digger and Ashee-butt to talk to about the house drama made a huge difference. RCC, Monster, and I went camping in Wyoming with my friends Angie and Matt; Monster and RCC spent some good quality time together and came back fairly close. Digger and Ashee-butt had been able to spend more time with him than Monster because they still lived with me - Monster kind of had to play catch-up.

August - Time to meet RCC's family in Utah. I don't know what I was most nervous about - meeting his Utah family or a road trip involving his mom, sister, and brothers. Both turned out to be a lot of fun and we came back with a couple of stories and new experiences (sleeping in the Excursion was a new experience for me at least). The kids' dad moved to Arizona; the boys, who don't spend much time with him, are handling it ok. Ashee-butt, on the other hand, is such a Daddy's girl that it's really hard for her. Digger turned 17. Where is the time going? There's no way he should be so close to adult-hood.

September - Monster's having trouble in school again. He had kind of anticipated it considering everything that happened during spring semester with his suspension. School for him started on a positive note, but slowly back-slid. Digger also was struggling - that damn disease of his sometimes controls him, not the other way around. Even though he was scheduled for one on-site class, most of the time he couldn't make it and ended up completely Homebound. We've settled into a routine - even Ashee-butt is getting used to being at home all the time, not just during the week.

October - Because of his situation at school, Monster made the decision to move to Arizona for a "fresh start". Ugh! I tried to talk him out of it multiple times, but he was determined to leave in November. Good luck and God speed. On October 30th, Monster was hit by a car while skateboarding in his aunt and uncle's neighborhood. Perhaps the worst news a mom can hear is, "your son's been hit by a car". No updates on his injuries, just that he's in room so-and-so at PVH. Turned out to be "just" a broken arm. He was lucky. Again, I was reminded how wonderful RCC is and what a help he's been to all of us.

November - Monster moved to Arizona. The house is much quieter, but I miss his energy and wit. The drama has gone with him. I hope he finds what he's looking for in Arizona. RCC, Digger, and I had our first Thanksgiving together (Ashee-butt was visiting Monster in AZ for the holiday). I really could get used to this being in love and having a "complete" family thing.

December - My baby girl turned 16! And got a hole in her nose, that I paid for (what was I thinking?!). Seriously, it's darling, but I can't believe how expensive it is to poke a sharp, pointy object through one little nostril! We had our first Christmas tree in 7 years. Christmas was fabulous and came off without a hitch! Digger finally got the tattoo he'd been wanting. And I fall a little more in love every day.

What's next? Who really knows? What I know is that my life a year ago really sucked and it affected the kids. We are all in a much better position to face the new year. What I do know is that good things can snowball just like bad things can. I never really believed that, but I do now.

I Miss My Monster!

Ugh! I thought packing Monster off to live with his dad was hard last week when it actually happened, and I know it's the right thing to do (at least right now), but I miss my Monster! Even though his teenage hormones made him almost impossible to live with at times, his amazing sense of humor and quick wit always kept the house lively.



This is one of my favorite pictures of him...he was so tired he fell asleep eating dinner.
I miss him terribly and hope that everything works out okay for him in Arizona.

Now the REAL nightmare begins...

Whew! I thought that the worst part of Monster's accident was, well, the accident. Hmmmm...was I wrong.

Last week as I was heading to the orthopaedist for Monster's follow up I received a voicemail from the owner of the car that hit him asking for insurance information. Since I was busy, I kind of blew it off, knowing that the important people (the hospital, the police, etc.) had all of the insurance information. When I got home from working for Mom at her B&B (http://www.allensparklodge.com/) this past weekend, I was greeted by a letter from the owner of the car seeking my Homeowner's or Renter's insurance.

No citations were issued in the accident, therefore no fault was assigned, so I was perplexed by his request. Turns out the owner of the car is not only a SOB, but he's also a personal injury attorney (kind of redundant, huh?) and by requesting my Renter's insurance (not that I have any) he tried to "trick" me into admitting that Monster was at fault in the accident and wanted my non-existent Renter's insurance to pay for the damages to his car. Not happening. No citations issued. No fault assigned. I'm not paying.

Wanting to make sure that I had all of my ducks in a row, I went to the police department to pick up a copy of the accident report and much to my dismay found it completely incorrect and incomplete. If whoever is in charge of accident reports was a student of mine in Medical Records, he/she would fail the class. We're talking legal documents, people! At least try to be accurate. And the icing on the cake - the written statement from the driver of the car is in TURKISH! The police department doesn't have an interpreter who can translate Turkish, so no one knows what the hell her written statement says.

UGH!!! Keep posted for further nightmare developments...