Update

If you were reading the blog a few days ago about Jack making fun of the boy at church who had a speech impediment, well I had a breakthrough on the subject yesterday. It seems that Jack really truly thought the kid was talking funny on purpose just to be silly. And it makes sense because I really don't think that he has ever encountered anybody like him before. He brought it up yesterday morning as we were getting ready for school. He told me that the big kid was talking really funny. I told Jack that the boy had an accident by falling off his bike and hurt his brain and that is why he talks like that all the time. He is not doing it to be funny. He can not help it. I watched Jack take that information in and try to digest it. At first he argued with me saying that the boy did not have an accident quite emphatically. But when I argued back that yes he indeed have an accident, I saw Jack crumple in tears right in front of me. I think he finally got it. He understood that the boy could not help how he talked. A lesson learned about being sympathetic...hopefully.

Random Bites

Jack has chapel on Thursdays at school. Here he is with his chapel uniform. So cute. However he did end up breaking the clip off the tie on the first day. Last week, I used a paper clip to hold it on, sorta. But I need to get another one for this Thursday for picture day. This could get expensive if he continually breaks his ties!

Can you say spoiled? Jim picked up a tv at a garage sale for really cheap and put it in Jack's room. The cable thingy doesn't work, so he can't actually watch tv, but he can play his PS2 games and watch dvds. Yeah he is spoiled, but Jim and I have the family room tv back!

In other news, Jack went to the dentist today and again the boy did not have any cavities. I swear he does not have my teeth because I get cavities really really easy. They took x-rays and the dentist said that Jack's teeth are "perfect". He also said that Jack should be losing his bottom front teeth within the next few months. How is it that my baby is losing his baby teeth? Anyway, he walked out with his prize, a monster truck, just what we need in this house is another monster truck.

Not Fair!

The new Planet Fitness gym opened up near me a few weeks ago. So Jim and I signed up and to tell you the truth I was dreading having to start working out. I am at my basic core lazy! The idea of sweating and hurting is just not for me. Yuck.

But when Jack started back to school two weeks ago, Jim and I started working out. I usually do 30 minutes of the circuit training and then 30 minutes on the treadmill. I have actually come to shall I say, enjoy it! Who woulda thunk it. And I am feeling better and thinking clearer than I ever did before. So it is a good thing.

I am also following the Weight Watchers diet of counting my points. I am not going to the meetings because I have been there, done that already. But I am following the diet and eating what I should to hopefully lose weight.

And the results after two weeks of working out almost every day and eating right? I have lost two whole pounds! Yippie! It is so not fair. I am convinced it is because I am in my 40s and pre-menopausal and my body is holding on to the fat for dear life. Sigh. But I will not let it get me down. I am enjoying the results from the exercise, but I just wanted to say - NO FAIR!

Church...The New High School?

I have been thinking lately just how alike church congregations and high school are alike. At least in my church.

For the past almost three years, we have been getting together with a group of people almost every Friday night for a small group experience of fellowship and bible study. When it started it was only four couples who had small children, so we all had a lot in common. Well it grew and grew and grew to where it became a small church gathering with close to 40 people every Friday night. And that is where the problems started.

First of all you have those people who think they are the most important, do the most for the church, the church couldn't run without them. One person even told me that she was a "mover and a shaker" of the church. They also believe that their poop don't stink. Among these types, it seems like there is a contest to see who can do the most "stuff" at church.

Then you have the "cool kids" and some of these people are also in the group I just described above. They are the ones that "everybody" thinks are so fun to be around. They are the "life of the party" and have all the other "cool kids" over to their house for all the "cool parties". You know like the jock or the cheerleader in high school. But they only associate with the "cool kids" that they deem are "fun" enough for their little "cool kids" get-togethers. They also feel that actually doing a bible study where you have to actually open a book and read is beneath their "coolness".

There is also those who are the "cool kid" followers, but never actually are elevated to their status. They are so thrilled like a puppy dog to be allowed in their circle every now and then, but are talked about behind their back by the "cool kids" when they are not around, mainly because they just don't measure up in the "coolness" factor.

Then there are the "Nerds" of the church. These are the people who are normal, but may have a deadly "flaw" in the eyes of the other groups. One may like to talk too much about her disease (Multiple Sclerosis) or made the deadly mistake of opening up and sharing a painful part of her past that could be used to gossip about by the other groups. Or there is the guy who was born with a defect and therefore not like the others, making him an easy target of more gossip.

There is the "older" group who basically is anybody above the age of 50 and not to be friendly with because they have nothing in common with this group. As one person said "I am just not going to be friends with an 80-year-old".

And lastly there is the "floater", who befriends everybody, no matter what group you belong to. And this is the group that I like to think I am a part of. In high school, I was a part of this group also, so I guess it just goes to figure that in High School part Two, I would be in the same group.

You are probably wondering why I am going through all this. And it is because we started a new small group formation this week. We split up into smaller groups and started to meet in the homes again. I am hosting one in my home. In this new small group, there is a mixture of "nerds" and "floaters."

There are now three different small groups to choose from and the "movers and shakers" and the "cool kids" have formed their own group. They are not actually going to be studying anything bible related, just getting together for "fellowship" as they call it. I call it a "gossip and I-am-hotter-than-you" session.

But I guess the final straw for me was when all this "church high schoolness" started showing up on Facebook with statuses that are so juvenile and petty. In fact, they are not even high school, they are more like junior high playground worthy.

And in all of this, you noticed I never mentioned God, the most important reason to even have a church. That is because there is no God in all this mess. And I am sure he is very disappointed in his humanity that call themselves "Christian".

Teenager at Five??? Or a Demon Seed??

Alright I don't know what has happened lately with the boy, but I swear he has turned into a teenager in the last two weeks at the age of five!

At school, he is graded on his behaviour each day by either a smiley face or a frownie face on the calendar. Well it was the third day of school and he came home with a frownie face! I ask him what was the deal with that and the first thing I get out of him was "do we really need to talk about this?" Well at that moment, I instantly went from a little perturbed about the frownie face, to an 8 on the richtor scale!

It seems that while they were lined up, he reached over and hit and scratched another boy in line and it was totally unprovoked by the other boy. When I asked Jack why he hurt the other boy, he comes up with "because I don't like to stand in line." aye aye aye.

The next day, his teacher told me he had a better day, he "only hit one time". But thankfully he has had smiley faces for the past week.

And then that brings us to tonight when we were at church. There was a teenage boy there who was in a motorcross bike accident a few years ago that resulted in brain damage. He has a bad speech impediment and speaks very slowly. While this boy was talking, I caught Jack sitting there and making fun of the poor boy! I immediately took him outside, gave him a spanking, and a lecture about not making fun of others. When we got home, I was putting him to bed and he looks at me with a defiant look and tells me that he was mad at me for yelling at him. Of course that made my blood pressure raise to sky high levels. I took his stuffed animals away from him and he proceeded to cry and scream for the next 15 minutes.

There are a few things that I will not put up with and being cruel and mean to others is one of them. I do not want Jack to become one of those kids. I know that kids will be kids, but I hope to instill some empathy into him.

The Day Is Here...First Day of Kindergarten!

I could not let this day go by without blogging about the boy's first day of kindergarten! This is the day that I have been both looking forward to and dreading all at the same time. I have been excited because now that he is in school all day long, every day, I can now devote some of my time to me. I have plans to start back at working out at the new gym around the corner. I have plans to organize this house (can you ever be truly organized) and do some projects around the house. I am also debating in my mind about going back to work. Just the possibilities are very liberating in knowing that I have the hours of 8 am to 3 pm dedicated to me!

But I have been dreading the day because it means my little boy is not my little boy anymore. I do enjoy Jack's company. He actually is very fun to be around and I treasure our time together. When he was in preschool last year, I would pick him up at noon and it would be Mommy and Jack time and we went to lunch at least once a week. But now he eats his lunch with all his friends at school. He now has his own life that does not involve me for seven hours a day.

He was so excited this morning as Jim and I were driving him to school. He got in the car and yelled out "kindergarten here I come!" I tell you that kid cracks me up all the time by the things he says. We decided to put him in the private christian school that he was going to for preschool. Yes it is a fortune, but for right now, we think it is worth getting that christian foundation and not to mention the better academics than the elementary school that is in our district.

It was so chaotic this morning when dropping him off. He has quite a few friends he made during preschool in his class, so that was a good thing. His teacher is great and the classroom looked like such a fun place to be. It was fun watching all the other parents with cameras in hand sending their kids off to kindergarten, and yes I was one of them!

When we picked him up, he was still all pumped up with excitement. His teacher sent home a note saying that starting next week, the kids will have homework sent home on Monday and they have until Friday to finish it. I think homework consists of one or two worksheets, but it gets them in the homework mode for the future. And Jack is thrilled to have homework to do. We shall see how long that lasts.

I couldn't get much out of him about what they did today, other than he enjoyed lunch and recess. Typical kid.

So that's it. The big day has come and gone and I survived it with very few tears. I know it has been a long time since I have blogged and for all those people who have mentioned it to me, I apologize. The summer was a bit traumatic in the Jackaroo house. But I am back and will be posting again on a regular basis.

It Looks Like We Just Might Have Grandchildren ... and other Happenings

At Jack's five-year check-up, the doctor noticed that Jack's boys (yes I am talking about those) had not dropped like they should have by now. This of course made me very nervous about the possibility of not having grandchildren since they were supposed to be dropped fully by the time he was two. So we got a referral to go to the Children's Hospital in New Orleans and we made the trip over there on Monday. And thankfully all checked out alright. It turns out he has what is called "retractable testicles" and he has the ability to retract them when he gets nervous or turns cold. Every single man that I have told about this condition has informed me that would come in handy. But anyway, it is a condition that is nothing to worry about, except have to keep an eye on it and make sure that as he grows taller, they are able to still drop. So phew. Grandchildren are still a possibility.

In other happenings, the kid's get out of school on Friday. I am actually looking forward to not having to get two kids to school all before 8 am every single day. I still can not believe that Jack is going into kindergarten next year and will be a full day of school for him everyday. He is sooo excited about the whole kindergarten experience and keeps asking me when it starts. I also got his yearbook today and I have to say that I am a proud Mama because he was awarded with the Christian Character award for his class. We plan to keep him in this Christian school all the way through the 12th grade.

Tomorrow night Jack has his preschool graduation, which I am sure will be very very cute. He says they have been practicing for it every single day. The main event will be the kindergartners who will be in little cap and gowns as they "graduate". Simply adorable.

Things are starting to calm down a bit with Brandi. She made me sooooo mad last week when I found out that she stole a cell phone from a friend and did more than 5000 text messages and was calling people that she is not supposed to be in contact with. The theft was a felony and if our friends had pressed charges, she would be in a world of trouble right now. I do not believe I have been so angry and mad in my life and it has taken me a week to calm down a little bit. I am really wondering if we are doing any good with her. She just sits there and shuts down when I or anybody else tries to talk to her. But I am not willing to give up on the girl ... yet. At least I do have somebody that I can make do the dishes and other nasty chores around the house like pick up poop in the backyard. :)

Sickies

Jack is home sick today. He woke up at 4:30 this morning yelling out for me. I first thought that he just had allergies because his eyes are all swollen, red, and watery. But he sneezed some pretty ugly green goop, so I figure there is something else going on. And with all the swine flu histeria going on, I guess taking him to school with green goop is not a good thing, even though the last time I checked, Mississippi was one of the few states with no cases of the swine flu.

So anyway, it looks like a day of Disney channel and whatever. The boy is very into drawing and coloring and writing these days, which I like to encourage. He loves to write an assortment of letters down and make me read them. It is fun trying to sound out the word "UIWMEW".

There has been more drama with Brandi and spent the entire day yesterday dealing with said drama. But that is a whole nother post and I am just too weary to even post about it right now.

Mother's Day at the Jackaroo House

I had a wonderful mother's day. The day started out with Jim making breakfast for all of us yesterday morning. We decided to play hookey with church because Jack was having a tee-ball tournament this weekend. The tournament started on Friday night and his team won. It was back to the ball fields at 9:00 on Saturday for another day of tee-ball playing. His team played two games and won both games.

On Saturday night, we took advantage of our built-in babysitter, Brandi, and Jim and I went to see Star Trek movie. It was a really good movie and even better getting away from the kids and having some time alone with Jim.

On Sunday, we were back to the ball fields. Jack's team won their first game, which meant they had to play again against the best team in the league and well we got slaughtered in that game. But truthfully, I was very happy not winning and having to stay for the championship game. It was 93 degrees with 90% humidity out there. The boys were exhausted and the parents were hot and sunburnt. I was very happy to lose.

Jack has actually improved alot in the tee-ball playing. He actually hit a few doubles and is starting to pay attention when on the field. His favorite position is catcher and takes his catcher duties very seriously by making sure the ball is placed on the tee just right everytime. He still has alot to learn and lots of practice, but he seems to enjoy playing. The season ends on the 29th and we will probably end up putting him in Fall Ball to get some more practice. I would say that this has been a positive experience for the boy despite the uncertain start.

Trying to Get Back Into a Rhythm and Frustrations

So today marks the first day of back to normal. Laura left yesterday afternoon after being here for two weeks. She was supposed to leave early Sunday morning, but her flight leaving Gulfport was delayed by 3 hours which meant that she was going to miss her connection and they couldn't get her on another flight until way late, which is against the Unaccompanied Minor policy. So we got her for another day.

So everybody is back to school. I kept Jack out of school most of last week just so he could spend some time with Laura and Brandi, who was out of school on spring break also. Ihave no idea why Jack's spring break had to be in March when every body else had it in April. But it is very nice to be back to normal.

We had some major drama yesterday around here. Laura could not find her cell phone when she was packing up. She and I tore the house apart looking for the thing. I had a sneaking suspicion that Brandi had taken it, but I really did not want to think that. So I had to take a very upset Laura to the airport without her cell phone. She was literally in tears because of what her mother's reaction was going to be. Her mother is downright cruel and won't give it up until she has belittled Laura. So Laura was scared to death to get back to California and tell her mother she couldn't find her phone.

So after I saw Laura off, I went to the High School and picked Brandi up and confronted her about the phone. She looked right atme and said she did not have it. I went through her pockets, bag and everything looking for it. We get home and Jim has to call Laura's mother and tell her about the phone. We both know that Brandi took it and wanted her to fess up. So Jim is telling Laura's mother to get the texting activity today because he is pretty sure that somebody took the phone. Brandi tells me that she wants to tell me something in her room and sure enough she stole the phone and gave it away to a friend!!!!!! I do not think I have ever seen Jim so mad in all the years I have known him. I have no idea what she was thinking. We do not let her have a cell phone. She has no phone privileges and no computer privileges and she can't go anywhere except to school and church. I do not know how to punish her for this. She continues to lie to me saying it was an accident. But I know different, because all day yesterday she was turning the phone off and on and knew exactly what she was doing. She has yet to apologize for it. She stayed in her room most of the night last night.

I am truly at my wits end with her. I am having second thoughts about whether we can help her at all. Can we change 15 years of neglect and abuse and having no consequences in 3 months? I was letting her get on Myspace when she first got here. She promised she would not talk to anybody but her friends. Well I later found out that she had been giving our home phone number out to strange men and talking to them. She also had Jack's picture on her page and claiming him as her own child, along with a bunch of other lies. Which is so dangerous considering that Jim is a cop and has probably arrested some of these people she was talking to. We live in the threat of somebody finding out where he lives and coming here with revenge. I was so mad at her that I was shaking uncontrollably that night. That happened about a month ago. And now the cell phone theft. I am really doubting whether we can do this whole foster thing. I thought we could change her life, but now I am not so sure. It is all very frustrating and disappointing.

Easter Pics

Another Crazy Busy Weekend

First of all, thanks for all the birthday wishes. I had a great day. I took the kids shopping and got the girls easter dresses, yes even Brandi as shocking as that is. I will have to post a picture of her on Sunday. I got Jack a new pair of pants (I can not believe he is into size 6 now!) that can double as part of school uniform for next year and a shirt and a pair of shoes. Since we get 98% of his clothes as hand me downs, it was actually kinda fun to shop for the boy.

As for me, I got myself a pair of fancy jeweled flip flops that I can wear to church, but man they just are not as comfy as my croc flip flops are. I also bought myself a Nintendo DS with the brain age game and a Mario Bros game. HA! With all the kids in the house, yeah I might be able to play it sometime at the end of the summer, who knows. But it is cute and pink when it is being played by some child of mine.

It is so not like me to spend money like I did yesterday. Laura was looking at me like who has possessed this woman. But it was really fun to just say what the hey.

This weekend is yet another crazy busy weekend. We have plans to get together with the whole Clayton family today for Easter dinner. Of course the last minute family plans meant that I had to tell them at church that I would not be able to help out today at the Easter festival for the kids. Can't be at two places at once.

And of course tomorrow is Easter and that is always a busy day. But I promise to post pics of the kids all dressed up. Fun times.

Happy Birthday To Me...

Today I turn 42. Wow that sounds old. My big plans today are to take Brandi and Laura shopping for Easter dresses. It will be worth every penny if I can get Brandi into a dress. The girl who wears nothing but Aero jeans and Aero tshirts. Then next on the agenda is to take them to the Hannah Montana movie. And Jack will be tagging along for all of this too, which will cause him to complain and whine mightily about how bored he is while shopping. Should be fun....

Tee Ball ... The Ultimate Frustration

Jack had his third game of tee ball last night and I just have to say that it is sooooo frustrating for Jim and I to sit there and NOT yell at the boy. He is on the 5/6 year old team and since he just turned five, he is one of the youngest on the team. Some of the boys are almost 7. So there is a wide variety of abilities.

But that is not what is so frustrating for us. It is the total and utter lack of concentration on Jack's part. When he is on the field, while all the other boys are paying attention and fielding the ball, Jack is in the outfield turning around in circles, shuffling the dirt with his feet, playing with his hat, throwing his glove in the air, pretty much everything BUT paying attention to the game. In fact, the coaches had to go out and tell him to go into the dugout at the end of the inning, when every other player was already in the dugout, except Jack who was turning in circles.

And this is not a laid-back tee ball league, no they keep score, count strikes, have an umpire, the whole shebang. It is the real deal. And for Jack to be in LaLa land is quite frustrating and quite frankly embarrassing. He doesn't seem to care. Even after we had a talk before last night's game when I told him that if he didn't pay attention, he would lose his PS2 game for a week. Well he has lost the game and I just don't know if that is enough to make him care about the tee-ball.

Sigh. Maybe he will get into Taekwondo this summer. So far we are 0-2 with soccer and teeball.

It Helps to Have Pediatricians for Friends

We have friends who are married pediatricians, who goes to our church and lives in our neighborhood. It comes in handy, like when Jack was having a strange rash and I just drove him over to Nichol's house to make sure it was nothing serious.

Well last night I talked to them about Jack's testicles, which by the way is kind of embarassing to be talking about. They were saying that a boy's testicles should be fully dropped by the time he is two. When I told them about Jack's having to be pulled down, but pop right back up is not that bad of a thing, as long as they can be dropped. If they couldn't be dropped, it would probably mean he would be sterile, but since they can be pulled it is a good thing. However, the fact that they pop up, means that they will probably have to go in and "tack them down" or release the muscle that is holding them up. They were a little surprised that this is the first time a doctor has mentioned anything and should of been mentioned during the two-year or at least the three-year check up. The fact that they waited till now to mention anything does worry me, but they seemed to think it is not that major of a deal, but is something that needs to be addressed.

Five-Year Check Up

Today was the day for Jack's five-year-old check up. Jim took him this morning, so everything that I am reporting is through him. It seems like he is a healthy boy. He is 45" tall and 46 lbs. Good grief that is only 3 inches away from four ft tall! Geesh.

I guess they checked his eye sight and Jim said that he did pretty well except for the really small letters, which is much better than I can do. Ha!

There is one thing that is of concern though. It seems that his testicles have not dropped the way they should of. The doctor can force them to drop, but they just pop right back up, which I guess is not a good thing for a five-year-old boy. I guess they should have dropped by now. So we are getting a referral to a Urologist in New Orleans at the Children's hospital there to see if any surgery is needed. Yeah slight flip out on the word surgery, but not too bad. Hopefully everything is okay and that won't be needed.

But other than that he is a very happy and healthy five year old boy.

Priceless

Cost of new bat ... $25
Cost of new batters helmet ... $12
Cost of new baseball shoes ... $25
Cost of new baseball glove ... $19
Cost of new bag to hold above items ... $20

To watch the excitement of a five year old boy who knows he is going to be playing baseball

PRICELESS

Take Me Out To The Ballgame...

So we started T-Ball tonight. It has been a nightmare to get to this point. I swear we are jinxed when it comes to team sports for Jack.

We signed Jack up for the t-ball in February, paid our fee and was told they would get in touch with us when practices started. Well time went by and we soon found out that our friends son was on his team with scheduled practices. I have spent two weeks trying to get in contact with somebody, which was very hard because their website had absolutely no way to get in touch with them. Finally I got the phone number of the league commissioner and gave him an earful about not being told that the season started. Well, of course because it is us, they lost our paperwork and had no record at all of us signing up, despite the fact that they cashed our check. Thank goodness I had kept our copy and proved that we did indeed sign up. At this point, the teams had been together and practicing for almost 3 weeks. So finally today I got a phone call from the coach telling me that they had a practice tonight, nothing like short-noticed.

So we showed up at the baseball fields with about a gazillion other teams there (baseball is huge around here by the way) and me trying to find our team not knowing what our team name is or the color or what the coach looks like. I walked all over there asking if they knew where coach Billy was and I got completely vacant stares. I finally found the coach and the right team. I then look around and feel like I am out of my league. It turns out that this is the big league T-Ball for the 5 and 6 year olds. The other kids have the special sports bags all lined up there with their names on them. They each have their own bat, helmet, mitt and full (just like the pros) uniforms. Me? I brought my five-year-old. That is it.

So it looks like I need to go out and buy a gazillion dollars worth of equipment. Jack's first game is on Friday night and he will probably not have his pro uniform by then. But at least Jack seemed to have a good time out there in a borrowed helmet and bat tonight. The coach said that he is not behind and should do fine on the team. People it is T-BALL, not the big-leagues!

So yes we are onto another sport. I just hope that I end this season with a better feeling than I did the soccer season. I sure am not starting it on a good note!

Storms and No Sleep

Last night was another night of really bad storms. I haven't heard how much rain we got, but it has to be A LOT. The way it sounded on the roof was pretty bad. And the thunder and lightening kept going all night long. I woke up about 12:30 and was pretty much awake until 4:30 when I went back to bed and got another hour and half of sleep. Of course at 6:00 I have to wake kids up for school.

Jim was on duty last night and I called him about 2:00 and he said that he couldn't see anything while driving. Oh and he got hurt last night by some drunk guy who was resisting arrest and elbowed Jim in the ribs so hard that they thought he had broken a rib or two. After going to the ER and getting x-rays, it turned out that he just had a bruised rib. But still quite painful and he is sleeping with some percocet right now.

And another strange thing happened yesterday morning when lightening struck my boss's neighbor's house (right behind him) and burnt the house down. My boss was saying that the flames were 20 feet in the air. I drove by there today and there is nothing left of the house but the bricks. How scary is that? Of course my boss is feeling pretty lucky today. Had it been 100 feet the other way, it would have been his house.

Anyway that is what is happening around here. Lots of bad weather, no sleep, and houses burning down. I am now off to pick Brandi up from school and take her to her therapist for her weekly appointment. Thank goodness a friend just came and picked Jack up so that I don't have to wake up Jim to watch Jack. Life is very busy and complex these days. Phew!

Saturday Stuff

** Brandi is at a youth retreat this weekend at another church. She was quite nervous when I dropped her off last night and wasn't sure if she wanted to spend the night because she didn't know any of the other kids there. We found out about this retreat from a lady who runs a foundation geared to help foster kids on the gulf coast. But she was brave enough to stay and from what I can tell, she is going to have a really good time.

** For the first time in I don't know how long, we have a Saturday that is not jammed packed with stuff to do. I have to run a few errands and tonight I am going to a friend's house for a Twilight movie party, but other than that I don't have to rush off to do something. It feels really nice.

** The weather here has been beautiful. It has been sunny and around 75. Gorgeous.

** Some stupid person on a barge ran into one of the bridges across the Biloxi Bay yesterday and a 60-foot section of the bridge fell into the water, along with a car. Nobody was hurt, but it will make the traffic around here really really bad for the next however many months until it gets fixed. There is now only two ways to get across the bay and that is not good.

** Jim has been working really hard on our front-yard landscaping. It is almost done. We now have a pond with a fountain, palm trees, and pretty plants out front. I will take pics and post them.

** I am very excited because Jack will be in his new school building on Monday. This building was supposed to be finished before the school year started, but that obviously didn't happen until after spring break. It is an absolutely beautiful building and it will be his school until he is in high school.