Most of them are from 12 – 7 and not conveniently located to me. Did I mention they are from 12 – 7? I am available in the mornings before 12. There are some Saturday hours, but Michael works on Saturday too. Fuckers.

There is one date, two weeks from today, relatively close by and from 4 – 8. Michael is going to head down there while I keep the kids home.

VPK saves us 25$ a week for PreK at the place we’re looking to send Shivie next year.

I am just so angry that we were at the fucking building and they couldn’t take ten minutes to take the goddamn paper that was already filled out and hand me the certificate.

Also, Michael was rear ended last week. He took his car in, but the effing insurance sent him to a body shop. We needed a mechanic. His check engine light is blinking on and off (which is a change from it just being on all the damn time) and the engine isn’t firing the right way. Our ins. was useless, and he’s left a message with the other ins. to call him back, he wants to see a mechanic.

We took the van in for an oil change and brake eval. 600$ later, I will have new brake pads, a new serpentine belt (I have been told that the serpentine belt is near impossible to break or wear down – I’ve replaced it in three different cars, methinks someone is lying to me about that fucking belt), brake fluid, and some other gobbledygook. As it turns out, we have the money this time and don’t have to beg, borrow or steal. Yay!

I am so sick of today already.

We spoke to the dentist about Malachai (again) and I explained to her that our speech pathologist (who can’t call her directly as she is a student, but she is amazing) said that simply removing the teeth would be detrimental to any progress he has made. I explained that he was 100% unintelligible and not having the two front teeth would send us right back to square one.

She explained our options, but it boiled down to the fact that since he will not tolerate having x-rays done, they just have no clue what to expect. She said they could go in, expecting to do crowns, but if the cavities are to the nerve, they have to pull. Because he already has crowns on all the molars they cannot cement a bridge in place and she is worried that using a temp bridge (one that comes out) would be more trouble than it’s worth (he could swallow it, it could get lodged in his throat, he could lose it…)

I said I hate to Benadryl him up just for x-rays, but if we do them and find out the cavity isn’t as bad as all that and they can do the crowns or just leave the teeth until they fall out on their own, I’ll do it. She sent us home with the x-ray tab to get him used to it being in his mouth, so maybe they can do the pictures without the Benadryl. I doubt it, but maybe!

Michael is taking him in next Thursday.

banana, vitamin water,

huge greek salad, yummy!

lunch – smallish salad – handful of greens, entire avocada, 1 small tomato, handful of grapes, oil & vinegar

I keep forgetting to list my liquid intake, but it’s not always a lot. Yesterday I had a Vitamin Water, and I just cracked one open today. (1PM)

one fig (I had grabbed two, but one got stolen)

more salad for dinner, Michael came home and made a banana-blueberry-raspberry-strawberry-milk smoothie, I had some of that too, and popcorn. Oh! I made the boys a banana-mango-milk-honey smoothie after dinner, I had some of tha too.

Child Elopers’ Africa Plan Foiled : BBC News

Two German children – aged six and seven – have been stopped by police from eloping to Africa to tie the knot in the sun, reports say.

The budding lovebirds, identified as Mika and Anna-Lena, packed bathing costumes, sunglasses and a lilo and headed for the airport.

Sweet sweet story. Scary for the parents, but super sweet for the kids.

We had Malachai’s IEP this morning. All went well, he has a 1:1 for part of the day, interviews for the 1:1 were today. His speech was dropped to 3X a week instead of 4X, but not a big deal as he has improved a huge amount and he gets an hour outside of school as well. They are doing a OT/PT request form, so he may get OT/PT in school as well. They are accomodating his OT sensory diet needs. I have to copy and drop off those papers tomorrow morning.

My wrist and elbow are in a lot of pain. In fact, the entire right side of my right hand is a wreck, from pinkie finger down. I am worried, but not too… I’ve been working a lot this week.

Getting the oil changed in the van tomorrow morning, dropping off the release forms to APS (for CSE to be able to communicate with APS), dropping sensory papers off to CSE… busy morning!

There is more, but I really am having trouble typing :/

BBC NEWS | Business | Crude oil price drops below $106.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be so excited, especially after reading they anticipate it soaring back up, and past the low 100′s to over 250$ per barrel. But I am. We had to get gas yesterday, and it was as low as 3.679$, and I got a full tank of gas for less than 90$.

I will be the firs to admit, I don’t quite understand why gas has soared so high. I understand just fine that we’re having troubles (understatement much?) with suppliers/supply areas, and I understand it’s a limited resource. I also noted that on the pump yesterday there was a note that said “between 1% and 10% ethanol,” so why can’t we mix it a little more and bring the prices down a little more too?

I also know bio-fuel is equally as bad as oil-fuel (well, it’s still bio, isn’t it? How misleading!) but for different reasons.

So much to digest… It doesn’t help that I am operating on too little sleep, trying to think about this stuff it giving me a bit of a headache right now.

I was recently reading that bio-fuel (corn based) causes problems with the land, can cause more pollution in production and shipping, can cause poverty (I must say, that one is still beyond me, but let’s skip it for now), and a handful of other major problems.

I’ve said it before, I literally screwed myself into the need for a large car/van. I have three kids, all in carseats. Show me a smaller, fuel-efficient car that can safely seat them and doesn’t cost a fortune and I’ll jump on board! Until then, I have a minivan I can mostly afford (and owe more on than it’s worth, so no trading it in for a new vehicle) that isn’t as bad as some on gas, but not as good as others.

AAA had an article on hybrid vs. some other smallish car (I think it was a Hyundai) and the numbers over five years had the non-hybrid come out ahead in fuel efficiency and cost, so if you are looking at a hybrid to cost less… don’t. If you are looking at a hybrid to be easier on the environment, go for it!

Tangent there. Told ya I wasn’t awake.

Obama fires back at GOP – First Read – msnbc.com.

I told you there would be a new and improved blog here. My husband sent me this, and what grabs me the most is how adamantly RNC seems to be against conservation, even when it is as easy as putting some air in your tires.

My car has an idiot light. When the tire pressure is off (and sometimes when it’s not!) my odometer flashes at me and tells me to reset my tires. We pull into the nearest gas station, check the pressure, add some air if needed, reset the idiot light, and go on our way. My car is a 2005, so most newish cars should have this feature somewhere (I can’t believe it is Ford specific) and if you have an older car (with an analog odometer) you should be checking your tire pressure (and oil and other fluids) at least once a month anyway.

This is common sense people. Don’t deny a basic fact, one that has been known for decades. If you take care of your car, from the tires up, you will have better fuel efficiency, and a car that lasts past your payments.

I got off topic. I’m not for anyone just yet in this election. I haven’t decided who gets my vote, but hey, I live in South Florida, my vote doesn’t count too often in elections anyway. I just thought this was note-worthy, someone is bringing attention to the fact that some things in conservation are as knowing how to use an air gauge.

ETA: Outside of my blog, which got a little off topic   How do you feel about this? The RNC is trying to say a little upkeep doesn’t help, but more drilling is the be all end all answer. Don’t they stand to benefit from more drilling (or their cronies anyway?)

snack – chips & dip

dinner – salmon don; half a sumo roll

beverages throughout day – soda with lunch; langers h20 x2

I feel disgusting. I am torn between wanting to eat everything I see because I *feel* hungry (not thirsty, I know the difference, and in general I reach for a drink first) and wanting to stop eating all together until I drop this weight. I know, it wont work. But guess what, diet & exercise didn’t work either. I guess it’s food diary time for me again. When I feel accountable to someone, I don’t let a little here, a little there slide by.

I never got my thryoid tested. I’ll have to see if I even still have the damn paper. Maybe I can get a new one from the MW without paying for another visit.

God, I feel like a cow. My sinuses are all stuffed up, my head feels three sizes too big, and I guess it matches my ass, right?

So I am not only complaining, I did move the shoe rack, and the small marble table, and it opened up our entire entrance into the house. I swept and mopped. I brought three baskets of laundry up and got two of them put away (the third is full of the kids clothes, which can’t be put away just yet).

We did not get to the park this morning, but we did get a new nightlight for the boys room and toilet paper. We had hotdogs in crescent rolls for dinner tonight.

I love my family. I do. I wish I could wake up, and have a giant do-over. One that starts long enough back to let me fix personality flaws in myself that I don’t have the strength to fix now, but could be altered in choices I made growing up. I just want the promise that I get Michael back, my kids. I just want basic things in me fixed, and I can’t do it here and now. I can’t do it alone, and the people around me don’t want to make these changes. I am feeling very weak right now. Lack of will power. Lack of something. Maybe I don’t want it bad enough, but I feel like “it” is things I have wanted for a long time. I just can’t do it alone. I’m not a leader, and I am not a follower. I just like to have a little company during life changing times.