The Countdown Has Begun...

Three days before my "vacation" date starts.


So you all know I'm taking a few days off of work for "vacation". I've been working for a year straight with this company without taking any time off. (The two days off to heal my ankle doesn't count).

I am currently looking for a room to stay in for next weekend because I'm not sure if I can "rough" it for 4 days/nights in a tent. I've tried it before and I always run away pulling my hair out and screaming.


I know it's been awhile since I posted. Blame it on the fact that I'm getting old and tired. I've been working like crazy and passing out BEFORE Angel does. And to think, I used to get after him for not hanging with me. Not once has he gotten after me.

I have a TON of updated info to fill you in on.


FIRST:
For those of you who follow me on Twitter you know about what I had to do to Tattoo.
The dang cat kept scratching us and clawing at us. He even scratched me down the side of my face leaving me looking like Scarface.
I had to do something about it once and for all before he scratched all of our eyes out.


Sooooo....


I took him to the vet to have him neutered and de-clawed.
I know, I know it sounds so inhumane but it had to be done. He was drawing blood.

Here he is after the visit. I thought he was dead. He was laying there sedated with his eyes open. It was creepy. They cut out his "berries" and the stench that was coming from there was almost unbearable. Almost skunk-like. He slept in my room in the basket (since I'm the light sleeper) so that I could take care of him.

Here, he is coming out of the anesthesia. He's cross-eyed because he's trying to focus. Poor kitty. He couldn't walk right for a few days and now he eats laying down. He kept jumping out of the basket and trying to run but he kept falling over because of the pain in his paws. You can see where one of the bandages came off early.

He's doing fine now. Just not as "Alpha Male" as he used to be.

SECOND:
We have a new addition to the family. His name is CHUPA. (Angel named him). Leave it to Angel to come up with the names. How do you think Miah got her stripper name (Miah Divine). I'm not asking questions about how he came up with that, I just went along with it.


Anywhooo....


Miah is giving the puppies a bath. There are 2 because one of them is a gift for my Dad (the white one). The puppies are Dachshunds mixed with something else. I don't know and it really doesn't matter. All our lives we've had mutts for animals and we loved them just the same. This dog is going to be an inside dog. (Good thing I have kids to clean up puppy messes, whew.)

Here they are after their baths and after Angel left for work. They sleep with me because I like to spoil the animals. The good thing is that Angel doesn't mind. Whatever makes me happy.

A little family picture before I take the white puppy to my Dad once and for all. There is one more brother puppy left and Angel was thinking about getting it and we keep it and have 2 puppies. Just waiting on the word and he's ours. Angel may not admit it but he's just as much an animal lover as I am. He's just not as emotional, though.

THIRD:

The school Dom was attending at the end of school was a charter school. If you have been following and keeping up with this blog then you know the dilemma I was having about trying to get him into a Medical Technology High School. He was still lacking some course work from the previous school and he wasn't classified as an 9th grader to be eligible for the Med school (MEDTECH).


Well......


A few days ago, I called the previous school to see what we can do about him catching up on that course work so that he can go to MEDTECH. The receptionist told me that I needed to come into the office to sign some withdrawal papers because since I had Dom enrolled at both school (as a precaution) that they already faxed over the withdrawal info to MEDTECH.


I was like, "REALLY?"
"What about the work?"
They were like, "Oh, yeah..we forgot."


So they gave me the packets to bring home to Dom and he JUST finished them and will be testing on them next week before our vacation and then he will be starting MEDTECH on the 24th.



Trust me, I'm going to be riding him throughout the whole school year. Be prepared to have plenty of post about my frustration during the school year. It's not something new. I'm just glad I only have 1 child that I have to deal with the school issues. Miah and Devyn are pretty much saints in school.


To read the other posts about this situation go HERE and HERE.

LASTLY:

One of the reasons I haven't been sleeping well is because Angel gets up at 4 am (or rather, his alarm goes off at 4 am and I have to wake him up to tell him about his alarm going off) to get ready for work and then I am awake for the rest of the day. Sucks, I know.

What DIDN'T help is that a few nights ago, a neighbor told Angel that there was a man crouching by our fence in the back yard petting our mean and vicious doberman dogs.

*blink* *blink*

Yeah, I know. I was a little freaked out because I can't have people making nice with our killer dogs. It's really dark in the back and we can't see anything. I kept getting up in the middle of the night to check if anyone is out there so my paranoia got the best of me.

Angel went and bought some flood lights and we positioned them to light up the whole yard. I don't care if it looks like a baseball field at night out there.

NO INTRUDERS!

They don't know we have a vicious attack cat inside. Beware!

Anyway, I know this post is lame but it's just an update. Maybe after my vacation my mind will be working right and I won't be walking around like a zombie.

A weight lifted.

I had a very stressful morning.

Today was the day Dom and I had to go to a MANDATORY Advisment Session this morning at 9 am at the school I am trying to sell my soul to get Dom into.

MedTech*

Now, if you refer back to THIS POST you will know about what our dilema was concerning this school.

I know that since Dom didn't complete 3 of his language arts packets prior to school ending that he wouldn't be considered a 9th grader.
School is out.
He won't be able to complete those packets until the beginning of the school year. Once he does, he will automatically (<--I'm hoping) be promoted to the 9th grade.

The thing is...I took Dom's TAKS scores along with his report card...along with Dominique to this advisement session.

It was further from my home than I was expecting so I had to refer to my GPS from my phone. I logged in the address and it showed me the destination and mapped out the route and tracked me ALLLLL the way.

We ended up at an intersection with flat acres of land all around me. I was starting to panic. There wasn't a complete building in site. Just run-down shacks.
This ain't right. We were almost running late. I hate being late!

I turned around and asked a couple of men who worked for the city where it was and it turns out...it was right as we exited the highway, off to the right....THIS HUGE SCHOOL...that I couldn't see because I was too busy looking down at my phone following directions.

Anyway, we get there, park, grab our info and go in.
The whole time we were on our way, I kept thinking, "They won't accept him because he's not technically a 9th grader when the 1st day of school starts".
I'm shitting bricks over here because I'm really frustrated that Dom slacked off and isn't aware of the possibility he may have lost.


So...I approach one lady and explain briefly what the situation is and she cuts me off and says, "Is he in 9th grade? Does he have paperwork stating that he was promoted to the 9th grade?"

I say, "Well, we are waiting to see what the paperwork says when it comes in the mail......." (<---LIE! I really know what's going on.) Then she bluntly says, "If he isn't in the 9th grade when school starts then he isn't eligible for enrollment here. He will NOT be able to attend this school."

Then she just kind of...walks away.

Hopes.....*shattered*

I went and sat in one of the chairs they had set up for this session and tried to hold back my tears. Dom was asking/telling me to "calm down" because I was just getting upset thinking...what am I going to do now?
I don't know why, but we stayed through their little presentation and when everyone got up to go and take the tour of the school, we stayed behind and spoke with someone else.

A different lady.
Her nose wasn't so high in the air.

Again, I tried to explain the situation and was actually given the chance to explain fully that all Dom needs is a few days to complete and test over the packets to be classified as a 9th grader. They did have mid term enrollment that he was eligible for and that starts in Jan. but when she heard that he just needed a few days...She said that he could have the first 5 days to complete those packet (at the other school) test on them and receive his promotion info and then just pick up here (along with any make-up work) at MedTech.

I started crying right there.
I couldn't help it. I have been soooooo stressed about this whole thing and being rejected was really too much but to be told..."We'll work with you" was EXACTLY what I was hoping for. I was thanking and wiping tears because I can't stand to have my kids not be able to take advantage of every opportunity there is. They don't know how to look for it so I will show them. Never stop knocking.
ESPECIALLY IF IT'S FREE AND THEY PROVIDED TRANSPORTATION!

We caught up with the people from the tour (we had our own tour guide until we caught up with the herd). We bought the books that are required summer reading. The list consists of:
1. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
2. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
3. A Separate Peace by John Knowles

He also has a 150 vocabulary list that he has to know BEFORE the first day of school because he will be tested on it.
And he has to watch "I Am Legend". He will be tested on that too.

We went to the library and bought all of those books and I was so happy. I was probably more excited than he was.

He will be spending 4 days in July at this school learning about the school and doing activities and completing the second part of he enrollment. This is also Mandatory but I don't have to go this time.

I'm so happy.

I go out of my way as a parent to make sure that doors aren't closed unnecessarily. I like to make sure we've covered and explored every option.

I am going to call the Principal of his current school to make sure that it WILL be possible for him to complete those packets in the first week without complication.

I've been extremely stressed about making sure my kids have everything they need.
Don't make Momma mad, people.

Now, Dom needs to understand that I won't be doing this anymore. If he chooses to misbehave or not complete his work in this school after all of my efforts to provide opportunites for growth and knowledge, then he must understand that I will probably have no choice but to enroll him in a Military Academy.

I'm not even fucking around, people.

I'm feeling a litte bit better now.
More...De-Stressed.
This means that I will be able to work worry free because I won't have to pick him up from school at 2pm every Mon-Thurs and 12:30 on Fridays.
This means that he will be occupied from the hours of 7am to 5pm everyday.

Not to mention he will be getting a very good medical jump-start on college and careers.

*SIGH*


This calls for a Chelada!!!

*If you are curious about what MedTech is....GO HERE.

Just Plain Proud.

Dom completed another packet. Social Studies.
He is working at a fast pace and I like that.
I honestly think he is actually working toward graduating at an earlier date.
I don't know how much prouder I could be.
His teacher is amazed with him and how fast he is completing his work and testing. She said that it usually takes the students "a while" to finish a packet because it's at the pace they want to work. Then it usually take some time before they would test on that packet. Dom completed the Science packet on the 3rd day there AND he tested on it the next day. He hasn't even been in this school 2 weeks.

So proud.

MIAH has been cracking me up lately. Angel and I bought some doors to install in Devyn's room (not real doors, just those accordion type doors). We were putting them up when I heard Miah yell at Devyn in the living room, "WHAT DID I SAY? NO GRENADE LAUNCHERS!"

She was playing the Xbox with him. She has been playing more and more lately. I'm afraid the boys are warping my little girl like HERE.

It's around 4 am right now and I'm a little restless due to lack of sleep. There are several factors contributing to that this very moment.

The dogs are driving me crazy. They wake up and play 4 or 5 am and all I hear is them banging up against my bedroom wall and barking and gnarling at each other right outside my bedroom window.
They are getting so big and getting into EVERYTHING!!!
Our washer and dryer are outside on the back porch and every time we go out there the dogs are all hyper and jumpy. They want to just stand on their hind legs, put all of their weight on you and just lick and lick and lick. If you happen to drop a sock or *gulp* your underwear, then you are shit outta luck. They gone. The dogs are playing tug-o-war with them in front of the neighbors. They chewed the seat off of Angel's bicycle. They've chewed up baby trees in the yard. They crap and piss every 10 seconds so it's not safe to venture out into the yard.
I love those puppies.

The cat (Tattoo) was laying on my head.
This friggin cat attacks us all every chance he gets. You can walk anywhere in the house and he will spring out on his hind legs and pounce on you. He attaches himself onto your legs and starts biting on it as you are walking. He chases you and ultimately causes you to dash to your room and dive on your bed so he can't get your ankles. Wanna pet the kitty? Sure, go ahead. If you really want to take the risk of retracting your limb with only a couple of fingers left not to mention your forearm getting all scratched up by his hind legs.

He pounced on my dad's poor puppy the whole time they were here visiting.
The cat plays hard but he also crashes hard. He sprawls out. He don't care.

He likes to stare us down for awhile right before he attacks!

He always finds his way into my room at night and curls up on my bed to sleep.
Cute kitty.

Snowball (the outside cat) came inside to get warm and crapped under my Christmas tree. That cat has plenty of fur so... outside he went.

The Hamsters are running in their wheels. RIGHT NOW.
They never stop running. THEY RUN ALL NIGHT.

There is this crazy squeaking noise coming from the top of the house. I think it's the vent from the stove and it's windy outside. The wind is making it spin and it squeaks.
I can't do anything about that.

I have a house full of crazy right now.
And the sun hasn't even come up.

Been Busy! Just like you guys!

A lot has been going on (I know everyone is busy so everyone is excused for not posting as often as they would have liked to....everyone except those getting paid for posting...hee hee).


Anyway, I have been dealing with the kids, family and working.

WORK:

One of the Physical Therapists (PTs) that worked for the company on an "as needed" basis decided he didn't want to be needed by the company anymore so now we are down to 2 PTs. Both of them are working with the company on an "as needed" basis too. They are also working with other companies as needed so they are pretty busy.

This means that I will be getting my patient load from these 2 PTs only if they have time to accept patient evaluations from my company.

This means that I have just dropped my patient load from 6-8 patients a day to 4 patients a day (which is what I have now). I also looked at my schedule for next week and on Tuesday and Thursday I only have 1 patient.


I have to say. At a time like this...it's a good thing I'm salary.

KIDS:

Devyn just finished his soccer league. We lost everyone of our games, except the one where the other team was a no-show. Whatever. The kids have fun and he is getting better in the sport.

Angel has done half of the Christmas shopping in Corpus and I did the other half here.

Dom was told that if he completes another packet in Science and gets a grade of 90 or above, then he doesn't have to complete any more science packets (he still has 4 more packets to complete). If he does that with all of the subjects then he will automatically be passed onto the 9th grade.


He's excited and I think that is what he is going for.

FAMILY:

I have been trying SO hard to get my sister to be open to doing things more as a family. She has issues and likes to put the blame on everyone else. In case you missed it, THIS is what happened one time when she decided to put her issues first.

The last time we (her boyfriend, her and myself) decided to have a BBQ on a Saturday. Her kids had just stayed the night with mine that Friday. I figured all she had to do was come on over.

Well when I called and asked her about coming over on Saturday, she said "ohhh, I don't think we are going to go after all."

WHAT?!?

Come-on now.

For Real?

You don't want to spend a Saturday with your family even though you are STILL complaining that we don't do anything AS a family?

She did manage to come over and get her kids though.

Whatever chick.

SOOO...people. Here's my last ditch effort:

Devyn and Miah are going to be playing basketball. Just like I wanted to do with soccer (have my sister's kids come and play on the same teams and I would pay their registration fees) I want them to come and play on the same basketball teams (of course I offered to pay their fees, again).

I talked to the coach who is in charge of the whole program and he said we could get basketball underway if he can round up enough coaches (he had a little bit of a hard time getting coaches for soccer).

This is when I told him that maybe we could help him with that. I asked him how much experience he needed and he started saying "some" but ended up saying "none".

PERFECT!

I played basketball in high school and well...that's all.

I proposed the idea to my sister and explained that she and I could coach the girls team and her boyfriend could coach the boys team with our boys and Dom could be the assistant coach for him.


She's excited about the idea. Maybe this time we will be able to do something together as a family cause this shit is killing me.

Her and her boyfriend argue A LOT and she lets that get in the way of everything she needs (or promised) she would do. I told her that she needs to put her personal issues aside when it comes to the kids. Lets see how that goes.


I'm thinking about buying us all some whistles to help them stay motivated.


What do you think?

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So, guess what my friends! I'm sure you all are seeing the gas prices still dropping.

Here's what we have now down here:



P.S. Dom has a new post up. Check it out HERE.

Now that he's not grounded and has a ton of free time with no school work. I will have him posting more frequently again.

I'm raising my kids to be...

Just like me.

Tonight, while we were at Devyn's soccer practice, Miah and I were sitting on the side munching on some snacks. Dom had helped carry the stuff (like my chair and a blanket for Miah) before he took off for the skate park. We had a bunch of stuff that would have benefited from a bag or tote. Then, the mosquitos started attacking us and we had to run for shelter.
I gathered up all I could in my arms and started booking for the car.
Miah was struggling with a few things but I started getting some distance between us and yelled back to her, "Every woman for herself, Miah!"

Then the lid on my drink started coming off so I had to stop and resituate everything and that is when I saw Miah passing me up from the corner of my eye, dragging the blanket and yelling, "Every woman for herself, MAMA!

She laughed as she left me in the dust.
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Dom has been attending this new school for less than a week and he already tested out on his Science packet. He got a total score of 110 (the extra 10 points are for the notes he took to prepare).
I'm so proud of him and I knew this was the type of setting he needed. No lectures...just work and the proper surrounding to help him focus.

Better than I thought...

Before I start, I would just like to mention at this time that Miah has changed her cat's name from Tattoo to Tattoo White Tiger.
She was insistent.


My life financially is.....better than I thought.


A few years ago, I actually considered myself as "poor", financially.
I was a stay at home mom of 3 kids. Angel was traveling all over Texas (and a couple of other states). We were living only on his income as a laborer in construction.

We already know about Dom not being his biological son from THIS STORY.

We had Miah and Devyn together and we both decided that I was going to stay at home with them until they were old enough to communicate with us in a manner we could understand comfortably. We were both paranoid parents and didn't want to risk anything when it came to our children.

Once they were old enough, I picked up some info from a local college and found a list of careers. I decided what I wanted to become, went to school for a few years (with the help of financial aid which paid for 95% of my schooling), graduated and am now a Physical Therapist Assistant.

The times of food stamps have been long gone. (It was hard adjusting to paying actual money for food when I had been used to using food stamps.) I figured it out.

Now, since I moved and started this Home Health job, I am actually starting to see a huge potential for saving. Seeing as I am the only one who does our budgeting. We've always had 2 separate bank accounts (we still do) where his check Auto drafts into his account and the same with mine. I also keep both accounts in case of identity theft.

Anyway, I was thinking today about how much better off we are. I mention to Angel lots of times how I remember when I used to waitress and the money was NO WHERE near as getting an actual CAREER. I could never have made a career out of waitressing (no offense to those who are out there).

My family life is...better than I thought.

Back then, I was a stay at home mom of three.
Now, well....still basically the same with the exception of a job.

Angel is still with the same company and he still travels where ever they send him but he hasn't been a laborer for a long time. He's a machine operator. Much better pay. I still get up in the mornings and get the kids up, make sure they have what they need and drop them off (yes I still drop off my 13, 9 and 7 yr old even though they could walk to school). I pick them up after school. Sometimes I have my parents walk around the corner to get Miah and Devyn because I haven't come to terms with letting them walk alone. Dom's school is 1 mile away and I won't let him walk...well I did one time and he didn't come straight home. He sealed his fate on that one.
Angel still tries to get me to let them walk to school and back home. Nope.
I'm still a protective mommy and I am scared to death of pedophiles so there's no talking me out of it. At least not now.

I've always had problems with Dom and his school and grades and behavior.
I finally did what I needed to do.
You can read about what I did HERE.

In public school...He got a 6 in science.
A 6!!

How do you get a 6 in science?

Here's how....he didn't do any of the journals he was supposed to do. But the teacher gave him a chance. She gave him instruction on the 6 journals and let him make them up. I made him sit and write ALL of those journals and he wasn't going to get up until he finished them ALL.
Within 30 minutes, he handed me his 6 journals. He turned them in the next day and got 70's on them (they are only allowed to get the minimum passing grade for make-up work). So he ended up with a 70 in science when I withdrew him from that school.

That's when I knew I made the right choice.

I've always been the one to manage these types of situations because Angel is always gone and now...I prefer to be the one to manage it. I like having control of the family. He comes home and throws a big fat wrench in my gears. Screws up the whole schedule (I still love him though).
I tried letting him handle "my duties" one time and THIS is what happened.

Anyway people, I'm pooped and It's 7:44 Dang. I promised the kids they can start staying up a little later...like 9 *gasp* How am I ever going to make it till then???

Maybe...JUST Maybe....

I'll be able to stick to doing something.


AFRo was just talking about making time to do something for yourself.


And..


Honkeie2 over at feeling stoopid is wanting to get back into shape again.


I guess I could do a little getting fit of my own for myself.


I'm going to have to drag these babies back in from the back porch.

Also...

My two babies, Venus and Serena that I got a little while back ....

are now growing up to be muscular and beautiful.

Of course, Snowball, the cat isn't scared of them at all. He's going to just keep on eating his food and ignore the beast on his left.

Tattoo, the kitten, is still a little scared of them and..... they know he's iiiinnnn heeeerrrreeeee.

Those dang dogs tear up EVERYTHING in the back yard!

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I withdrew Dom from the public school he was attending here. It was just too slow for him. He was always getting in trouble because of his grades but I know he is just bored. I put him in an alternative school that is from 8-2p, and on Fridays 8-12:30. It sort of puts a kink in my work day but I think it will be worth it.

He gets to complete his work at his own pace and if he just keeps on working and completing the 8th grade work. He will automatically be moved into the 9th grade. If he works at the pace that I know he is capable of working at...He will be able to graduate in 2 1/2-3 yrs.

Today was his first day and he seemed to like it. Now I can't get after him for coming home and getting on the XBOX right away because he does all of his work at school. (Almost like a home school program...away from home).

I'm excited and he's excited so there is excitement to be had around THIS household.

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So guess what people!!!

Gas around here is getting close to hitting the mark I hoped it would!!!

Date Night.

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!

I didn't post that day because I was scrambling around trying to get the kids in order.

Thursday I had to go to the school and deal with a situation concerning Dom. He got suspended for writing threatening letters to another student.

I am trying to get him out of this public school and put him in a Charter School so that he can work at his own pace. The school here is basically designed to teach the kids of the Rio Grande Valley. The majority of the kids here are Mexican (or from Mexico) and at a different level intellectually. (Not meaning to offend anyone...but in these parts...it's true). A lot of the work is being done in class in a group so that everyone has a chance to learn and understand. Dom is constantly bored because he says that if the class doesn't understand something, they will go over it again the next day and then again the next until they get it. 3 days of doing the same thing would drive me crazy, especially if I already know the stuff.

Dom is already way ahead of the class because he has and IQ of 140. He was in the gifted and talented class but he decided he didn't want to do his work so they dropped him when his grades dropped ...a long time ago.

Anyway, the charter school will let him work at his own pace and move on to the next subject when he is ready. No waiting for the class to catch up. If he continues to complete his work correctly, He may be able to graduate in 2 or 3 years. (Depending on the speed of his pace).

That's what's going on with him.

Miah came home with a letter from school saying she can't return until she gets a vaccination she is missing. Luckily for me (and her) we got her up to date on her vaccines Thursday night at the night clinic. I just have to take a copy of her shot records to the school nurse.
This made Miah happy because she is not trying to miss school. She is proud of her perfect attendance. She has been a little sick but she wouldn't stay home.

Friday night we took the kids Trick or Treating and the kids weren't satisfied with the amount of candy they got. The kept wanting to hit up more houses. The next day, Miah and Devyn sorted the candy like civilized little kids. They divided ALL of it between the 3 of them and gave me the odd pieces.

Saturday Night.

Angel and I went on a date. My company had given me a $25 gift card for The Olive Garden AND since my company OWNS the Killer Bees Ice Hockey Team...we got free tickets and free T-shirts to see the game. It was Home Health Night and the majority of my co-workers were there.
When we first got to the Arena. A girl who works for the Arena came over and asked if we wanted to be the winners of the "Best Seats in the House". All we had to do was just stand there while she made her little speech and our faces were going to be on the Jumbotron. We were kind of embarrassed and we declined. She moved on.

LATER...she comes back and says she's going to give us a second chance but this time we would be featured as the Sweetest Couple...we didn't have to say anything, we won a dinner for 2 AND we got our faces plastered on the Jumbotron.

I also caught one of those shirts that they were throwing around. When I opened it up...it fit Devyn.

We drank 1 beer each cause they were $6. I just can't buy expensive beer like that. The water bottle was $3.

We left at half-time cause it was already 9:30 and we were super tired and all the food we ate at the Olive Garden was putting us in a coma.

This is the mascot for the Killer Bees.



Either way...we had a good time.
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Today's Gas Prices:

I wonder if it will get to $1.50???