Hi again...
Amy, thanks for "sneaking in" and the compliments on my parents and my sweet daughter... and for celebrating my dad's cancer-"free-ness"! :) I'm sure you can understand the fact that we're STILL on cloud nine over it, even while still grieving the loss of my sister. I'm convinced that she had something to do with it. :)
Jan, the whirlwind makes me dizzy as well, LOL. Even in the midst of some depression ("situational") I'm managing to stay afloat all just b/c of the kids and their activities -- school, CCD, hockey, dance.
The wiggly knees haven't been a huge problem, haven't needed to do anything about them. Yes, it's something that children should "grow out of". As we age, the tendons/muscles get stronger and tighter -- well, that's what's supposed to happen, LOL!
I myself don't have knee troubles, but Alan does. Hopefully the kids don't take after Daddy!
Lori, LOL about getting around to this section of the board. I've often wanted to post at the top for you, in all caps. ;)
Yes, the anniversary bash was quite the surprise, and I still laugh when I tell people about how Mom made a couple of cakes for her own party. That's Mom for ya.
The children started school back on 9/2. Not having the best of summers, it was a bit difficult for me to let go and be happy about the start of school. However, getting into a normal routine again is a good thing... though I will admit, I really do hate school now. (LOL, and I'M not even the student!) I used to have a more positive attitude towards school, and naturally want the children to have that positive attitude, but nowadays, it's difficult to stay positive. I have lost all respect for the curriculum. All was perfectly fine when Vilija was in kindergarten and Andrius was in the 3rd grade. Once Vilija hit first grade and Andrius 4th, things began to get utterly ridiculous as far as the curriculum.
Don't even get me started on new math, LOL! The person who created it needs to be severely punished!
I'm glad, though, that the kids have some really great teachers again this year. Oh, and Andriaus math teacher is pretty darn good-looking.
What pains me is that my daughter, who is an excellent student and always strives to do her best, has to work 3x harder than most of her peers. It doesn't help me that her "best friend" is so "advanced" (I hear about it all the time from her mom... *sigh*...).
I think you might recall the bullying issue with which we've dealt for the past ~3 years. Andrius is the target of a punk who happens to live in our neighborhood. The kid attacked Andrius twice, physically, at the bus stop (once in 3rd grade, once in 4th), and has verbally taunted my son quite a few times. The principal continuously monitors the situation, has kept them in separate classrooms.
It becomes frustrating at times b/c I really cannot do much about it. Thankfully it's not a continuous everyday thing, but still, even if it's off and on, it's bad enough.
We had something occur on the 6th day into the school year, and I just wanted to scream. After some e-mail correspondence between myself and the principal, things have been "quiet", thankfully. However, once something new happens, if my son is harmed in any way by this punk, we're going to be forced to get the police involved. (Punk threatened our son on day #6 of school.)
I cried quite a bit for 3 days when this was going on!
Oh, and not only is my 10 year old son a victim of a bully -- so is my 48 year old HUSBAND -- his boss bullies him. I never thought of it before, but, yes, my husband is pretty much being bullied in the workplace. It's been going on for a while now, and unfortunately, nothing is being done about it. It's the boss, afterall. The thing that burns my butt is that the union president isn't really stepping in to help. (I won't go into how much I disrespect the union now!)
I'm relieved that Friday is finally here. Andrius is so gosh darn excited about going away with a friend this weekend, they're going camping. I'm very happy that my son is going to have some fun. Vilija asked me yesterday "Mama, since Andrius is going camping, can me, you, and Daddy go out?" Oh, but of course, sweetie!
Vilija is auditioning for the Nutcracker tomorrow, she's going to be cast as a Little Sweetie yet again. She's soooooo excited about dancing in the NC again.
Come October she may be starting voice lessons, we're going to try it out. My Mom wanted her to do it. The voice instructor is our favorite dance instructor, Krista. She's truly awesome.
As for me... I've been needing to see my PCP for a while, but have been putting it off, though I really should get myself in within the next month. It's time for a check-up, and I need to speak to him about getting back on the Trazodone on a more regular basis. He first prescribed it for me after my sister was dx'd with congestive heart failure and dad with colon cancer last year. I was desperate for some sleep, and the antidepressant effect was a bonus. I was taking it every other day, which was helpful... then began taking it only on weekends, on occasion, for just the sleep aid effect... until I began taking it once in a blue moon, simply for sleep when really desperate for it.
I believe I need it on a more regular basis, for both depression and sleep. At this point, the depression is just "situational", as I mentioned before. With the financial struggles, the bullying issues, the loss of my sister... it's been hard to cope much of the time. I will, however, point out again that, yes, getting back into a normal routine has been helpful. (I've also signed up to volunteer with a few things at the school, I really wanted to become more involved, especially now that it's Andriaus last year there!)
The PMDD has become worse with perimenopause, so that's another issue I'm needing to start trying to "fix". Unfortunately, I have a gyn who doesn't believe that there is such thing as perimenopause, so I am going to have to switch doctors yet again (that truly sucks!) and find someone who actually knows what a woman experiences FOR REAL when she hits a certain age!
