Aaargh

Every day since the beginning of school we have the same meltdown. Justin screams 'I wanna ride in daddy's car' and I wrestle him into the car while he fights, kicks, and slaps me. Daddy drives Lindsey to school because itt's on his way to work. Justin's school is in the opposite direction so I drive him. We tried switching cars - that doesn't help either - he just wants daddy, and daddy doesn't have time to go that far out of his way. You would think after 4 months of school he would get that no amount of tantrum is going to change the plan, but nope.
Anyway, once I get him in the car and start driving he screams. And he doesn't stop till we get there. He also pulls off his socks and shoes and throws them. Sometimes they hit me, sometimes they land way in the back. So I would get to school and then have to search the van for his socks and shoes in the carpool line. So I quit attempting to put shoes on him at home. Now I take his socks and shoes and put them in the floorboard out of his reach and he rides barefoot to school and we put shoes on when we get there. He's fine once we're there. One morning a few weeks ago I got to the carpool line and not only was he barefoot but Houdini had also removed his shirt - while in a 5 point harness.
So anyway yesterday was like the rest, meltdown, kicking, hitting, etc but now I also have bronchitis and I'm so not feeling up to dealing with this, but I wrestle him into the car and we ride to school. We get there and I turn around and look for the shoes and I don't see them. "Justin, where are your shoes?" - "at home". Ok, totally my fault for failing to get them, but that little turkey knew his shoes weren't in the car, and he let me drive all the way there. So, 15 minute drive home and he cries while I get his shoes, because he wants out of his carseat and wants to come in and then we drive back to school - again. Little turkey.

Now that I've had my daily panic attack...

So I was talking to my dad about Thanksgiving and stuff and while we were talking I could hear Zoey picking at the rug in my bedroom, so after we hung up, I went to investigate. This is what I found. I know some people think they are cute, but I have a standing rule of 'no rodents, no reptiles' in my house, and this was a flippin' reptile loose in my bedroom so I am beyond freaked out. I called hubby and he laughed while I ranted about the reptile. After Zoey finally moved it to the hardwood floor, I swept it out the front door, but not before she bit off it's tail and left it on the rug for a present. Still, for a 12 year old cat who has lived indoors all her life, she's apparently a decent hunter, so I'm proud of her for that at least.

Countdown to Turkey Time - 11 days

Well, since we have the new house, we volunteered to host Thanksgiving this year. What was I thinking? I can't even handle a raw chicken breast without feeling nauseated and now I have to pull the innards out of a turkey? Ewwwwwww. I'm playing the FX "I have sensory issues" card and making hubby deal with that part. Ewwww, ewwww, ick.
So, anyway I'm currently glued to the Food network watching everything possible about how to cook a turkey and make gravy, which I also don't know how to do. I'm planning to brine the turkey - sounds good anyway. Good grief, I just hope I don't start a fire or give the whole family food poisoning.

Sigh, I really should be cleaning or even unpacking, but I'm just so unmotivated. Blah.

pictures

It's been a while and I need to update the pictures so here are afew recent ones. This one is one of my favorites, because it captures my kids so well. The pink shiny boots don't match and she doesn't care - they are pink and shiny and she loves them and would wear them with everything if mom let her do it. And Justin who has a 50/50 chance every time to get his shoes on the right foot and but seems to always get them wrong and walks quite happily with his shoes on the wrong feet, which makes mom a little crazy...

They had fun. My parents came over to pass out candy while we took the kids around the neighborhood. We had over 350 kids - it was crazy and fun.

AWOL

Oops, sorry it's been a while hasn't it? Well since my last post we've sold our house and moved into the new one, and it's been keeping me a bit busy. We still really need rugs and art for the walls and I still have a LOT of boxes to deal with. And I volunteered to host Thanksgiving this year, and I've never cooked a turkey before, so I'm nervous. There will be somewhere between 13 and 17 people here, so it should be a fun day. :)

Justin is acutally sleeping better now. I guess giving up the nap worked, but he's a really cranky little bear in the afternoons. I finally got our ped to prescribe the med changes suggested by Dr H on our trip to the MIND Institute. The pharmacy had to order them, so I'll go pick them up today and we'll see how that goes.

I'm feeling desperately disorganized and scattered and pulled in too many directions right now with preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas, stuff happening at school, trying to unpack, and of course deal with the constant mood swings of my 4 yr old Jekyll/Hyde boy. I find that getting time for me - to exercise, read my Bible, or just have a minute to myself - is just not happening. Of course, I've always been really good at putting me last on the list anyway. I've had some spa gift certificates for over a year now - I just can't seem to fit in a mani/pedi - how wrong is that?

So anyway, I really need to work on my time management and do things a bit better. Otherwise, life is pretty good right now. I'll try to make some time to post more often. :)