Law of the Garbage Truck

So, after all of my whining, I open my email to find this email. I am sorry for dropping my garbage on all of you.

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

More audiology woes, but this time, NOT the audiologist.

**Before you read this, please note I love my children and would not trade them for anything in the world, no matter how much grief they cause.  You will nearly never hear me discuss the challenges of having 2 deaf children AND being a sleep deprived seminary teacher, but every now and then, I just need to let it all out.  God only gives us the challenges we are fit to handle, right?  I think he got me confused with someone else.**

Monday Doug picked up Brenden's "fixed" hearing aid (I use the quotes because I'm not so sure I believe it is true).  So, Tuesday, I asked Brenden's teacher to send home his FM so I could make sure they were working together.  (An FM is a microphone device that transmits the sound straight from the teacher, or whatever is near the microphone, to his hearing aid and cochlear implant.)  She didn't get my email.  So, Wednesday, she emailed me and said she would send it home.  Near bedtime, I took the FM out of his backpack and asked Brenden for his hearing aid.  He said he didn't have it in and that he had left it in the living room.  So, I crawled around the living room acquiring piece after piece of the dismantled hearing aid (thank you, Ethan).  I found all of the pieces but the battery and the FM boot and shoe (ridiculous names, but that is how the FM is transmitted to the hearing aid - they are two very tiny pieces).  I was really freaking out about the battery because if Ethan swallowed it, he could, well, here this website says it better than me:

Swallowed batteries can tear or burn the throat (esophagus). If the battery has poisoned the child, there may be pain, vomiting, or bleeding. The airway can be obstructed, organs can be damaged by poisoning, and in rare cases, death can occur.

So, I crawled around for a while more and called Doug to see if he would be home shortly.  I continued to crawl around the living room, then proceeded to the dining room, kitchen, up and down the stairs, through the boys' room (with a flashlight), and throughout the whole house - now I know the downside to a 3300 sq. ft. home - I always thought it would be the cleaning.  

Finally, I was relieved to find the battery, but the FM pieces were still missing.  I was less concerned about those except they belong to the school district and cost around $2600.  By this time, Brenden had gone to bed, so I woke him up and asked him where the pieces were and he shrugged and went back to sleep.  I asked if he would rather we throw the hearing aid away and he said, "Yes, then do I get 2 implants?" (he hates his hearing aid, I think because he gets little to no benefit from it).  

Then Doug came home.  He helped me search for a little while and then woke up Brenden to come help us.  By this time, Nolan was also up and on the hunt with the flashlight.  I think Nolan was more help than Brenden.  Brenden's form of searching involves sitting in one place and crying - no matter what we are searching for.  Finally, after nearly 4 hours of searching, we went to bed.  (I was mostly mad because I missed 4 hours of the very little precious sleep I get - usually only about 5 hours.)

The next morning, I called Brenden's Deaf Educator and his teacher and told them the shoe and boot were lost and he would not be wearing them.  I was preparing Ethan to go get an x-ray, incase they were ingested.  I put away breakfast and opened my pantry.  My pantry has spice racks on the doors.  I glanced down and in the very bottom compartment, there were no spices, but 2 pieces to an FM.  Ethan's favorite spot to play is in the spices (as I mentioned in the post with the picture of the green face).  I had opened all of the other cupboards the night before, but not the pantry.

We headed out to the car and there was some sort of charger on my front lawn.  I thought maybe it belonged to one of Doug's power tools and put it in the garage.  We drove quickly to Brenden's school and got all of his gear up and running (funny quick side note: when we lived in Pocatello, one day at church a little boy in my Sunday school class asked me why my son got to wear spy gear to church every Sunday).  His teacher then mentioned that the charger for the microphone part of the implant was not in Brenden's backpack.  I had totally forgotten about the charger in the lawn at this point and told her sorry, I didn't have it.  Then it occurred to me.  So I packed the little boys back into the car, drove the 20 minutes home, got the charger and drove back.  The charger, by the way, was covered in frost, leaves and dirt - it too belongs to the school district.  It must have fallen out of Brenden's backpack the day before.  (Another side note: by this point, it was 10:30 and only 28 degrees!)

So, now Doug is in search of a high school student to hire to watch the children so I can actually get something done.  My elliptical and treadmill have been virtually untouched since we moved, the house is a mess, and I am a sleep deprived, moody mom.  Consider this a "Help Wanted" ad.  (Although I refuse to hire anyone because I feel like less of a person for not being able to handle it all myself - it is my full time job after all).

Help Wanted 

Job Requirements:  Must be able to cook 3 square and evenly balanced meals a day, clean, play monster trucks and dinosaurs.  Must be able to read aloud tongue twisting Dr. Seuss Books for several hours on end without any interruptions or pauses for water to quench the dry mouth caused by such task.  Must be an expert in hearing devices and education of children wearing such devices.  Must be able to balance checkbooks and pay bills on time.

Tasks: Potty train a stubborn 2 year old, keep a 1 year old from eating or throwing everything in sight, and make a 5 year old responsible enough to keep track of the small items that should be attached to his head.  Teach values and decipher lies from truths.  Homework help and additional meaningful educational experiences for the children are required on a daily basis.  Grocery shop in town with three children and leave the store with sanity still in tact.  Flawlessly coordinate the sleeping habits (naps and bedtime) of two children who share a room with meals and bus stop pick-up and drop off.  A parent led Friday preschool would be a desirable addition.  Some occasional "just for fun" activities desired, but not required.

Pay: Nothing, nada, zip, zilch.  

(I suppose except for the gratification of seeing your children grow and progress everyday from your efforts - oh, and watching them sleep - that is when it all seems worth it.  Can't forget the sweet, constant "I Love You.")

Retakes?

Okay, so here is Brenden's school picture.  To retake or not to retake?  They are so darn cute I don't want to give them up, but at the same time, what in the world is he doing?  He got off the bus and said, "I have pictures, you are going to laugh so hard!"  I have added a poll to my sidebar.  Let me know what you think.

Primary Program

Sunday was the primary program.  Brenden did well.  His class sat in the front row on the stand, so he was visible for all to see.  When we left for church, I commented to Doug, "Let's go watch our son misbehave in front of the whole congregation."  He was very good - for the most part.  He had his part all memorized and was completely clear when he said, "I will live worthy to go to the temple."

Brenden's class all came to the front of the stand when they sang and there was one little boy yelling all of the words.  He was very loud, but very cute and knew all of the words.  Near the end of the primary program, Brenden started to try to box out the little boy and keep him from singing.  A bigger kid helped the little boy find a new place to stand and the singing proceeded.  Brenden then decided to take this little boy by the head and give him a noogey - in front of everyone.  Doug and I totally missed it - we had no idea.  I was informed by one of my seminary students later.

Later that day I was at a baby shower and was informed by half of the people there that Brenden was their dinner conversation.  Oh the joys of motherhood.  Mom, I opened the present.  Quite fitting, thank you.  She gave me a book called, "So you want to raise a boy."  I hope it provides some much needed insight.

This is another joy of motherhood.  I was having a VERY bad day already and the boys were really providing a challenge.  I just needed to few minutes to collect myself, so I took a short break in my room.  I won't go into everything that happened that day, but it was really just one thing after the other.  While I was in my room, Ethan emptied the cupboard of 6 colors of sprinkles and a few spices.  He then proceeded to sprinkle ALL OF them throughout the kitchen.  In the meantime, he spilled Nolan's orange juice, which stained the floor and provided an even bigger mess when mixed with the sugary herbalness.  He and Nolan ate as many sprinkles as they could before I returned.  Note to self: No more time out for mom.

This is the fireweed I mentioned in a previous post.  It is really beautiful lining the roads and highways.

We had 3 moose in our front yard this morning.  The dogs just can't seem to get used to it and try to attack them every time.  Today, Newman followed them and Doug finally had to drive around and go find him, which was not hard if you just follow the barking.

You CAN call me.

There is a nasty rumor going around our family that you are all strictly forbidden from calling my phone.  You can call me - anytime really.  The whole rumor began because Doug has extended evening minutes meaning we have free minutes after 7:00 pm on his phone (9:00 pm your time), but mine is regular evening minutes.  So, Doug's phone is the better way to go if you are looking for us in the evening, but you can call me anytime.  Also, we have a home phone number.  I can't decide how wise it would be to post that on a public blog, but if you want it, let me know.  That one you can call anytime without having to worry about minutes.  So, the rumor is officially dispelled and I can expect more phone calls, right?

My brilliant son

Brenden is in a K/1st split class.  In the class, they have half kindergartners and half first graders.  My intention in putting him in the class was allowing him to do the work with the first graders that he was able to do since he reads at nearly a second grade level, but still allow him to go to kindergarten.  In the class, they strictly split reading groups and math groups by K and 1st, so Brenden was in the K group.  They were learning the letters of the alphabet.  So, the teacher called me one day to see if it would be ok if she put Brenden in the 1st grade reading group.  I said, "Of course!  That is why he is in your class!"  No one seemed to believe me before school started that the kid is like a little genius.  One day I got a call from his deaf ed. teacher informing me that my son was brilliant.  I pretended to be appreciative, but thought, "I told you so!"

So now Brenden is in the 1st grade reading group (and still way ahead of them) and the kindergarten math group.  They are learning to count from 1-10 and how the write the numbers.  Brenden can count BY tens to at least one hundred.  So, I expressed my concerns.

His teacher called me today and I guess they had a special ed. meeting last week and Brenden came up.  Generally, deaf kids are WAY behind, so he is always a topic at the meetings.  This time, Brenden's teacher's concern was not that he was behind, but that he was too far ahead.  He is in kindergarten, but basically IN first grade.  So, she is planning to put him in the 1st grade math group and told me that at the end of the year they are considering "promoting" him.  I had no idea what exactly that meant, but evidently it means that rather than having Brenden basically repeat 1st grade next year, they want to move him right into 2nd grade.  I am excited about it for him, but I could suddenly have a second grader!?  Yikes, the kid is growing up way too fast!

I feel somehow like I am bragging, but in the end, it all comes down to my curious, information loving little (although a head taller than the other kids) boy.  I love that kid!

Busy, Busy, Busy

We were very productive yesterday. I decided to show "Saturday's Warrior" today in class, so I didn't have to spend the usual 5 hours on a lesson.  We have been cleaning out the garage, getting the boats put away for winter, and filling the green house full of things we don't want to be snowed on.   First I had to remove all of the plants from the green house.   It was very unproductive this year - there were only 2 days the entire summer that it was above 69 degrees (and at that, it was only 70 degrees).  Usually they get great harvests up here with all of the sun, but it was not sunny this summer and rained way more than usual.  We won't be moving the green house (much to my dismay) until next spring.  We put all of our bikes and summer outside toys in there.

I am hoping to convince Doug that the shed that's beyond it's life span needs to be demolished today.  We might have to wear hazardous waste masks to take it down - it is just plain gross, not to mention right outside the boys' window and a very terrible sight.  In its place we want to put in a dog run with a dog door to the garage - then the dogs don't need to come in the house and they can let themselves out whenever they want, but still not wander the neighborhood.  Mom, the garage is heated, don't worry.

Beyond all of that, the house is a disaster.  The things in the garage have been coming in the house and I still don't have a place for them.  Today it is sunny though, so that will be a task for another day. I have found if it's sunny - you better be outside!

We will take down the trampoline today or tomorrow.  I put it on Craigslist and we have had lots of interest, but now that Doug might be home for a few days, he wants to take it down and keep it.  What in the world can you (safely) do with 2 trampolines?

I have visiting teachers coming at 11:00 and a seminary meeting in town (45 minutes away) at 5:00, so we better get to it!  I'll let you know how it goes!