My Plan

Now that spring is finally here,I plan on painting our bedroom because once it is summer, it is too hot to work in there.

I plan on walking outside 10,000 steps a day at least five days a week.

I also plan on visiting the backyard since I did not make it back there last year at all(pretty pathetic, huh?)Hopefully next summer I will actually plant something.

I plan on listening to music more and watching tv less.

I plan on making more meals at home (been doing pretty well with that with the exception of the last couple weeks).

I plan on sticking to the plan of having the rest of the family step up an help out around the house.

I plan on being outside more this summer (fits in well with the walks and the backyard visitation).

I plan on having people over no matter what my house looks like.

I plan on doing more creative things with the kids...playing board games, doing puzzles, baking, etc.

I plan on our family picking one volunteer opportunity we can all partake in and do something for somebody else.

I plan on doing more artwork.

I plan on complaining less.

I plan on going to baseball games this summer and visiting friends who live out of town.

I plan on seeing my mom more now that she is retired.

I plan on playing cribbage with my dad...it has been so long he forgot he taught me how to play!

I plan on being nice to my brother even though when he calls it is only to talk to Pete.

I plan on printing out stories from my Father-in-laws blog so the kids will have it when they get older and ask about him.

I plan on printing out the pictures still in the camera and putting albums together.

I plan on writing a book.

I plan on putting some money into savings.

I plan on a rummage sale this summer (where else am I going to get the money to put in savings?)

I plan on getting my teeth whitened and getting new glasses (Planned on that last year but did not do it).

I better get going, I have lots of stuff to do!!!

For the first time, Pete took some vacation the same time the kids had spring break. We decided to go Madison to visit his brother, go to a restaurant Pete wanted to go to and for me to get a new cane at the Wisconsin Council of the Blind.

You know you have married a long time when you talk about what you WOULD have argued about. We always have problems with directions in the car but now he has a phone with GPS. The only problem was the GPS was not working when we needed it to work. The Wis. Council of the Blind is located near the capital so we decided to get on the highway and head toward the captial but we had no idea where we were on the highway and in the past, we have often gone way out of our way only to realize we are heading in the wrong direction and the next exit is 20 miles away. So, I asked him to get off at the next exit so I can go into a gas station and ask for directions. Usually he waits a couple exits in hopes to see something that will point us in the right direction but I think he knew he should get off asap. Of course, the gas station attendent barely spoke english and had no idea what I was talking about(although he seemed like a very nice fellow and really wanted to help me). Back in the car, I called the place and being the council of the Blind, got someone who does not drive but really wanted to make sure we got there so after much talking and map reading, told us what we needed to do.

As we take the exit, the GPS starts working and we get to our destination. I got a new cane and looked at other things they had at the store but did not purchase anything. Since it was a nice day, we decided to go to the zoo, which is free, and according to the GPS, only about three miles from where we were.

We went to the zoo where my favorite part was the polar bears and the camel which looked at us like "why aren't you stopping to take our picture?" It was great because for the first time, my son was actually interested in the animals (probably because he was not stuck in a stroller not able to see over the fence like in the past). Some of the buildings were too dark for me so I waited outside and 'people watched'...saw a lot of frusrated parents with toddlers who did not really want to be there and I felt their pain!

Back to the hotel for another swim and calling my brother-in-law who either isn't checking his messages or does not want to see us. Knowing him, he will check his messages some time next month and finally call us and we'll both be sorry we missed each other. Next time we will try to contact him via smoke signals weeks before we plan on visiting him.

The biggest thing that happened was my six year old finally took off his swimming vest and swam on his own! I tried for awhile to talk him into doing it but finally gave up and he did it on his own terms. I just wish he wouldn't have done it a half hour before we were about to leave for good! I was so excited I wanted to stay another day but we were due to pick up the dog (looks and smells great after a bath and grooming) and Pete has come down with the WORST COLD EVER!!!!

Poor guy, not the way I would want to spend my vacation. He is a real trooper.

Sweet Dreams, Luke

Last fall, after two years of agonizing school years, we finally had my six year old tested for ADHD. We decided to go ahead with behavior therapy as well as trying medication. We have all heard horror stories about medication and how parents are not really 'parenting' because it is an easy way out to medicate their child. To be honest, I have not even met anyone who has a child on it for ADHD. It is almost a taboo subject around here.

But, my son needed help. I would go to his school and watch him behave so unlike the child I have at home, I wondered who this kid was? He spent a lot time rolling around on the floor when he was supposed to be listening to the teacher or not following directions. Something was going on and we decided to at least try the medication.

Here is an example...normally, he has a spelling test on Tuesdays so we practice the night before on Mondays. He has his medication during the week so it is still working on Mondays. He sits in the leather recliner with me with his pad of paper while I read each word aloud, then in my best talk show host voice, use the word in a sentence. After we have gone through the list, I check his work and he usually gets most of the words right the first time and the words are legible.

One Sunday, a day when he did not take his medication, we had to review the words becase we were going to be busy Monday night and not have time. He started out in the seat with me and that lasted about two seconds. He ended up on the floor, on his back, with his feet resting on the arm of my chair so all I saw were his feet. After I said each word, he would thrust the paper at me and the words were almost all wrong and barely legible. We even did them a second and third time and he did not get it. He almost seemed to be guessing at how to spell the words.

So, for me, that was a good insight into how the medication helps him. My job as a parent is to help him be the best he can be. What if my parents had not gotten me a hearing aid in school when I was in kindergarten or glasses in the sixth grade? I am sure my grades would have suffered. I see this as the same thing.

The other thing I noticed is he is sleeping better. Before, he had not taken a nap since he was about two years old. When he first went on the medication, he was taking naps after school. I mentioned it to his doctor because it was interfering with his bedtime at night but she said it was not a side effect. After a couple weeks, the naps stopped...it was as if his body finally got the rest it needed after six years of always being on the go.

Sweet dreams, Luke....love, Mom.

Three questions

The other night when I went to bed my son was still awake and it was later than usual. I asked him, "Are you STILL awake?"

"Mom, I have three questions to ask you."

"Ok" I answered as I sat next to him on the bed thinking he was going to ask me which robot of his I liked better and why.

"Am I going to live a long time?" he asked quietly.

"Oh,yeah, I am pretty sure you are going to live a very long time."

"Does...does....is ....is it going to hurt when I die?" he said tearing up a little and barely getting the words out.

"Well, here is what I know. " I said hoping I would say the right thing and why doesn't he ever ask his father these questions????? " I know God loves us and he will take care of us when we die just like he watches over us when we are here on earth."

"Mom, is the earth going to be here for a long time yet?"

"I think so since it has already been around since the dinosaurs and they were here 250 million years ago." (Thank you 'Who wants to be a Millionaire?' for that trivia bit). "So, I think it is going to be around a long time yet and God is in charge of that, too."

Then I held him and told him I understood because I use to think about those things when I was his age but as I got older, I realized God loves us and takes care of us. I do not know if it was the right answer or not but he did go to sleep after that.

Sometimes I think the reason we have kids is so we can learn from them rather than the other way around.

Thanks, Brett!

Well, I couldn't let Brett retire without saying anything. It is hard to describe how I feel. I am happy for him but I will miss him. He has been there every Sunday until the end of the season and I would patiently wait until the next season to start because I knew he was going to be there. Not anymore.

I know many think we need to get over it, we knew it was coming but for me, here was a guy we do not see often in our lives. Someone who was loyal when many people, including former coaches, do not know the meaning of the word. Someone who gave it his all for 16 years. Have you ever stayed with anything for that period of time with that kind of pressure?

For 16 years he has had to put up with fans and media who won't leave him alone, watched many of his teammates who became close friends leave or get cut, left his family for months at a time. He overcame addiction, worked through his wife's cancer treatment and played the best game of his life the day after his dad died. How many of you could have done that?

I am so happy his career did not end because of an injury but because he knew it was time to move on. I don't expect him to change his mind or take part in any big farwells because that is the kind of guy he is. I am sure he will miss it, how could he not? But the reason he is able to leave and move on is because he knows he gave it everything he had. He just wanted to play football but the rest of us wanted more. Let him be. Show him your thanks by being happy for him and allowing him to go and do what he wants whatever that may be. Play golf, ride the tractor, take your daughter to school without worrying about how she will be treated because a game was lost. Live this time the way you played football and you will be fine. A lot of us could take a lesson from you. Have I done the best with what I have and to be honest, the answer is no...until now. Now I will do my best so I can teach my kids to do their best in whatever they choose to do with their lives. So that when it is all said and done, I can look back and say, "I did the best I could". What a great lesson that is to learn from somebody who some people say is just a football player. I know better and so do a lot of other people.

Thanks, Brett.

Seven Year Itch

Yep, it has come to the point where I can't stand it anymore and I have to do something about it. We have been in this house for seven years and I am finally going to do a full cleaning. I'm starting with the kitchen. Sure, I've done a cupboard here, a shelf in the fridge when something spilled on it and we can no longer get an item out because it is permanently stuck, washed the floor when I could. But, it is time for a full cleaning.

I would call it a spring cleaning as it is known it most parts of the country, but around here, spring ain't ever gonna show up, Brett Favre still hasn't announced whether he is coming back or not, and even though the stores have racks of spring clothes available I figure those are only for people going south for spring vacation.

Today I started with the fridge and I have to admit, it was not as bad as it usually is. In fact, the only thing I can complain about it the fact that someone in my family (perhaps an elf I have been reading about lately) is leaving bottles of water where only a small amount has been consumed (that's why I think it could be an elf because it is such a small amount). Sure, there were the typical 5,000 packs of condiments from every fast food restaurant within a two mile radius, some fruit no longer edible and the same jar of pickles which has been there since we bought the place and has never been opened so I think it is still good.

The one thing I loathe about this fridge is a plastic piece about the size of a magic marker, which sits between the two pull out drawers on the bottom shelf. It is just about impossible to put it back the right way and to get the two drawers to fit just right so everything moves smoothly. It is obvious it was an afterthought to the designers of the fridge. There isn't a clip or anything to hold this thing in place and it is pretty simple looking it looks like it could go in anyway but no, it goes in a certain way, facing a certain direction which requires a balancing act to pull off this entire contraption. It takes more time to get this thing right than it does to clean the rest of the fridge.

I've thought about purchasing a new fridge, super glue, or color coding or even a large note writtan on the bottom but I always think "I have a college degree and I can figure this out!" However, but the time I clean out the fridge again, I have forgotten all about it. It is probably the same phenomenon where women forget about the pain of childbirth and have another kid.

Well, next up, the microwave. The last time I cleaned this thing out my hair got caught on the metal hook on the inside of the door and I almost had to call 911...this time, I'm putting my hair up in a clip.