Our New Friend

On Sunday I was yet again planting flowers in the back yard when I heard Morgan screaming about a lizard. Now this is normal with Morgan chasing Anoles around our yard almost daily. This lizard seemed to be more exciting then the normal ones. She was screaming for me to come look. I reluctantly went. Well I surprised to see this huge lizard climbing on our wall. Jimmy had heard Morgan screaming and came out to see what the deal was. Jimmy is an expert "lizard wrangler" from growing up in the deserts of CA. He grabbed a bucket and slicker than snot, scooped it right up. We have come to find out he is a five-lined skink. He is pretty neat. His tail is fading from the bright blue. This is from being an older lizard. He is good to have near my garden since he eats bugs and the like. So we let him stay in the Girl's wildflower bed near the garden. He is probably almost the length of my foot, most being his tail. The only problem is now when I am out there I am looking all over so I don't step on him. Or per chance he jumps out of the grass and bites my ear off. Do you think I have a fear of lizards?

These are 2 of the many Anoles Morgan has caught. This weekend she decided they needed to spend the day in the old Hermit Crab house. She named them and all. It is easy to see the green lizard ontop of the container. The brown lizard is below the handled container, just to the left of the blue handle. They are getting used to her constant handling. After she catches them, they didn't put up any further resistance. We have officially dubbed Morgan the "Lizard Whisperer".

New flower bed

I have been working my butt off planting flowers. I had a small flower bed last year. It consisted of Lemon Drops and Bee Balm. Which have grown twice their size from last year already.

This year I decided to make it a TON bigger. Why do I do these things? Actually I have had so much fun. I love working in the yard. In the past few days I planted Shooting Star Dianthus (pink ones), Bumble Bee Day lily, Theresa Hall Day lily, Daring Deception Day lily and East Friesland Sage (purple ones by the peach tree). They are all around my slate stones. I am not done yet. I still have about 20 border stones to finish. I also realized laying the mulch out today, that I didn't have enough. The dirt in the top of the photo, behind the black border, actually does have plants. I planted some seeds a week ago and they are barely sprouting now. I have planted Shasta Daisies, Panted Daises, Blanket flowers and Columbine. Then the yucky black border will come out. I just don't want to pull some weeds and them end up being flowers, so I had to mark it. (If you couldn't tell, my favorite flowers are lilies and daisies.)

I planted 2 flowers in the front yard by the porch as well. I added some rock to finish it off. Noah picked the flowers. I think they are so beautiful.

I am adding photos of the trees in our backyard. They are filling out so nicely. I love listening to the wind blow through the pines. It is so relaxing.

Garden Update

I am so excited! I went to water my garden today and found something GREAT! I found 4 baby tomatoes growing on my tomato plant. I am so very excited. All our plants are moving right along. The pea plants are growing faster than anything else. The carrots are just beginning to sprout. The squash has finally broken through the mound. I love this!! It won't be long before I see some strawberries too.

The wildflowers the girls planted on Easter, are sprouting all over. My Zinnias are growing like mad. My flowers in the back (Blacked Eyed Susans, 3 kinds of daisies and Blanket flowers) I planted last week are starting to sprout. My baby hostas are getting bigger. I am feeling such a pride in my yard. I may have a collage of flowers but you know me, color is key! I will take more pictures soon for you too see the progress on all the flowers and plants.

Squash (1st pic), Baby Tomatoes (2nd pic), Peas (3rd pic)

A family fun day

Today the plan was to go to church. Well about 6:30 am Noah comes in my room and says "mom my pump needs more insulin" (time for a site change). I said OK. He leaves the room and doesn't come back for 5 minutes. I find this odd due to his stuff being in my room. I figured maybe he went to the bathroom. After the 5 minutes he returns and states "Mom I feel low." OK so he checks his sugar. Now usually Noah is above his 150 target when he wakes up. Due to his extra exercise he has been waking up at different numbers. No real pattern so it is hard to adjust his settings. Anyway, he sits on my floor and proceeds to check. Then I hear, "mom it just says lo (low)." "Holy crap chew some tabs fast" I yell as I flop off my bed. . Now the lowest Noah has been is 29. Which is bad. But for the meter to say Lo, that means his sugar was below 20. Now I am freaked out but trying to stay steady for him. I quickly move (run) to my closet looking for his Glucagon, a shot that shoots immediate sugar into him,(like an Epi-pen) in case of unconsciousness or seizure. I am talking to him to make sure he is there. I turn around and he is laying on the floor. "Shit!" (pardon my language) I run over and he opens his eyes and says "what?" Geez he gave me a heart attack. He said he was sleepy and he wanted to lay down. It all worked out in the end. SO instead of church, I had him stay within range. I bulked him up on carbs and we went to the park. He usually just swings. I figured it would be OK. We had a lot of fun. Swinging and walking the trail, was pleasantly fun. The best part was the kids saying they were having so much more fun with me lately. That I am more willing to play. This was the most rewarding part of all the training I have been doing. We went to lunch (our reward on our day off). The kids all made healthy choices on their own. There are getting so good at this. Jimmy offered them ice cream and Mary was the only taker.

Anyway we went out and gardened, played in the hose, caught lizards and had a lot of fun this afternoon. I love my family!!!!

Noah is going back to school!!!!

I am so excited! Noah is going back to school!!!!!

We have worked the situation out with the school. He should be going back next week or the week after. We are waiting for the nurse to educate the teachers he is going to have. They are allowing him to carry his meter and such with him at all times. He will be having lunch everyday with Morgan, Mary and I at school. Then he will know his carb count. This way he will not have to eat 'the not so healthy and not so edible' lunches. I can not explain to you how exciting this is.

Noah is really ready to go back to school. He wants to do all the things he is missing out on. Like art, p.e., library, music, friends, a classroom, field trips, clubs and the like. He is so ready to go to school and then come home. To have the two seperate is a big deal to him. Here he can not escape school. It is just down the hall from him and Grandma is here in the house, so school doesn't really end.

He will be taking the end of grade test in 4 weeks. I am not sure everything the kids at school learned this year is what he has learned. Morgan and Noah have been going over what she has done this year to make sure he has also done it. If not we can work on it before the test. So please pray for him that he is up to speed with the school classes and that he passes.

I recently signed the kids up for the "Kid's Zone" at my gym. There is a giant play area (inside) that keeps them so busy. They have been going all week. Noah can not stop talking about it. He made a friend that likes everything he does. They play everyday and he has given him our number to call him. The change in him just from that is remarkable. He is so happy! I am too. I can not wait to see him come home from his first day. The look on his face will be priceless.

I will update more when he gets into school.

I've had enough...

I have had enough. My bills have gotten out of control and they need to be reigned in.

For example, Time Warner is ridiculous. I have a DVR which I love but you can't have basic cable with it. So automatic bump in price. Then we have the boxes for mom's room, my room and living room. We also get Internet but it has to be wireless due to mom's computer. More bump in price. Once a month Jimmy and I get a fight on P.P.V. So last month our bill was $264. That's right, you read it correctly! I am being swindled.

Then I have to have a land line for our security alarm. $57 there. The line is never used.

Our alarm is 24.95 a month. Not to bad that's $24 and $57 for the phone. $81 is a bit much to have an alarm.

So that is $345 a month that could go elsewhere!

My Power/Sewer/water (PWC) bill is $362 a month on the thrift savings plan. That is a tad outrageous! Plus they are the only power company for me to use in this area.


So I have decided things need to change.

1. We are getting rid of Time Warner. Jimmy and I are debating weather we really need cable or dish at all. If we decided to need t.v we will be going to Dish network. It will be about $60 a month.

2. We are switching our Internet over to Embarq Our phone company. So my bill will go up to about $80 a month.

Just these switches will save me $180 a month!!!!

Now our electric bill needs a change. I have been shutting off everything in my path for a month now. I don't care if anyone is in the room or not. Our dryer and dishwasher run on the air dry setting now. The outside security lights are not on anymore. The air conditioner temp is going up to 74-75. Even though I have allergies the windows will be open whenever possible. The heat when it gets cold WILL NOT go above 68. We will just have to use sweaters and the like. I will be searching deals on food and anything else I find. I have used coupons but will only go on double coupon day from now on.

There are many changes that will occur at the Dooty house. So watch out! Be prepared. The change is a comin'! I mean it, this is it.

** If you have any thrift saving ideas. Don't be shy and let me know. All advice will be taken!!!

Our garden

Here it is! Our garden. I know it doesn't look like much but wait until it grows. It is 18'x24'. The kids and I started on Monday and finished yesterday. We planted tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, banana peppers, carrots, spinach, squash, peas, hot Chile peppers, snow peas and watermelon. (of course the strawberry plant is still going strong in the front) We will be planting the pumpkins this weekend. Now hopefully all of these things will grow. The kids are already planning on what they will make with our veggies. I tried to explain that not all of them may grow, due to this being our first year gardening here. That we will have to see what our sandy soil will do. So for now they are happy with their plants safe and sound! Oh I didn't mention that after we put in the last plant in the ground, we got the news that we had a frost warming for last night. So when I put the kids to bed, Jimmy and I trudged out there and carefully covered our new baby plants. (Which is why there are upside down pots on some of the plants.) So I will keep you up to date on the progress of our garden from time to time. Hope this finds you well.

Book Competition

Today I came up with a brilliant plan, if I do say so myself. Morgan is an avid reader to say the least. Books are her food and air. Since I have finished so many books lately (now that Mary is older and can entertain herself) I figure I can give Morgan a run for her money. I challenged her to a contest. Whoever can read the most pages by midnight January 1, 2010, wins. Noah wanted to compete also but he is a slow reader. BUT he is still a good reader. Anyway, I decided that Morgan and I will compete for the title of "Ultimate Reader". Also there will be individual prizes. So I was debating what I could give them. I decided I could give them cash. Now thinking of Morgan's 3,443 pages she has read this year all ready, I figure this could get expensive! So I thought I could give the absolute minimum amount per page. I have decided that $0.01 a page is good. SO for now Morgan has $34.43. I figure I need to start saving now for the hit at the end of the year. If you see the kids, don't tell them about the money. The prize is a secret. I am a lover of books. Luckily I have been able to instill the love of reading in my kids. Noah is going to figure up his page total today. At the end of the year I will let you know the totals and see how I won...I mean who won.

BTW: If anyone out there wants to get in on an adult challenge, I am game. This is not for the faint of heart though...

The rules are:
1.It has to be a book that started on or after January 1, 2009.
2.You can only count pages of books you have finished. No partial books.
3.Books you read to kids do not count.
4.The pages are only the ones with the actual book, Preface and about the authors DO NOT count, so make sure you count your total correctly.
5.Keep track of the titles of what you read, in the event of a challenge your score can be verified.

Hotel California

Today I had my headphones on and listening to my music. I know it sounds bad but I needed a break from my loving children, who want nothing more than to spend every second with me. I was trying to listen to music that I haven't heard in awhile. So what better band than the Eagles. Of course first song is "Hotel California". I know there are many interpretations to this song. To different people it means different things. But I will let you in on what it means to me.

Now I am not sure how many of my devoted readers know about my Bi-Polar. I don't tend to tell many about it. Due to the automatic assumption that I am one of the crazies they hear about on the news, that shoot people or end up seeing things that aren't there. Now I am not saying there aren't people with mental illness that do horrible things. But there is a vast spectrum of people with this disease. I do take medication. I haven't all my life, but time to time when I need it most. I do not murder people or see or hear things that aren't there. I do not sit around contemplating how best to rob or steal or anything else.

I am on the not so bad side. The things I do, that are destructive, have been to myself. There was a long time in my life that I didn't want to think I had this disease. I wanted them to be wrong because all I saw or read about this disease was horrible. I didn't want to become that 'crazy' that everyone stares at.

I was hospitalized twice in my teenage years. The first hospital I went to (for another reason initially) diagnosed me. Now when you are on the ward with the mentally ill, it isn't like in the movies. I wasn't dressed in a hospital gown receiving electro therapy. I was in a room by myself. It was like a room you would get at a hotel, but without the t.v., mini bar or the like. I had a closet, bed, carpet, pictures on the wall and a bathroom.

At first I thought it wasn't to bad. Until I realized that I was the only sane one there. There were girls there that had anorexia. They weighed maybe 100lbs and thought they were whales. They did an exercise once where they drew on paper on the wall what they thought their body looked like. Then they had to stand in front of it. It was amazing how they had such a distorted image of themselves.

They had a guy there that I thought was so cool and nice. We had great talks and a lot of laughs making fun of the staff. Until the first night when we were told it was bedtime. Then as I got up to go to my room and he wigged out. Now I don't mean verbally, although that was a part of it too. He started throwing furniture and punching the walls. It took 5 grown men to hold him down and sedate him. At that moment I figured I would say and do whatever I had to, to go home. I was there for a week.

The next hospital I went to was even worse. They had kids sneaking off having sex in closets!! They had us watching Disney moves for t.v. time (which didn't bother me). They had us do group therapy which is no fun...ever! The private sessions were much better. I had a lot to talk about due to my very close friend's suicide. Everyone thought I was depressed...well duhh. It felt good talking about him. Getting out things even my closest friends didn't know or I have never said, even to this day. He meant a lot to me and I still carry him with me. Anyway, the place was crazy and so many things happened I won't go into. One day we went for "recess". It was not outside in the sun. It was downstairs in the underground parking garage. It was a large fenced area that we could be in. They had us playing dodge ball. Now I am not sure how good of an idea it was to have troubled teens chucking balls at each other. During the game a hearse pulled up. It was within minutes I saw my first body bag. It was at that moment I knew I had to get out of there. I eventually did within a few days. I snuck out and ran away with two friends of mine. From NE to CA. We ended up in San Diego. The second day I was there, I saw someone get stabbed. I went home soon after. Much more to the story that I will skip.

Anyway the purpose of this blog was to give you my view on the song. To me it reminds me of those dark hospitals. Those places I could not wait to get out of. They are still there with me. I dream of them sometimes. Only I never can leave them. I try to leave but can't get out. I am assuming it will always be there in my head. The faces of those that were there because they were further along in their diseases. The ones on the other side of the spectrum. The ones that will always need places like that.


**Last thing I remember, I was running for the door. I had to find the passage back to the place I was before. 'Relax,' said the night man,'We are programmed to receive. You can check-out any time you like, But you can never leave!' *** - Eagles

My little Muffin

Today was the big day. Mary got her glasses. She was so cute staring into the mirror. I wonder whether this is the first time she has seen herself clearly? She has done pretty well with them on today. She has complained only 2 times that she wants to take them off. I wish I could let her but she has to get used to them. The more they are on, the better. She was responsible enough to take them off when she started wrestling. Which is a great start.

She looks so pretty in her pink frames. I can't wait for her to see things in a different light. Imagine all the detail she has missed in her 4 years. A whole new world has opened up for her.

*Oh and pardon the chocolate around her mouth. She got a treat with her glasses.