In response to your questions...

You poor NZers-- you arent privy to colored rubber bands...

such a shame...

Im doing Ok. I started working again. At the healthfood section of a huge grocery store. The pay isnt that great, but I do like what I do and its necessary right now.

I hadnt worked for 5 or 6 years--- I forgot how many people escape from the the insane asylum on a daily basis... the crazies are EVERYWHERE! Not to mention the myriads of lesbians that grope eachother in front of my freezer aisle... *Whats up with that specific spot??? LOL!* (no offenses to anyone, but geesh, get a room!)

Aaron slammed my right hand in the front door a week ago-- never felt such amazingly blinding pain in my life. Thankfully the only thing really hurt was just my middle finger. The rest of the fingers were just mildly hurt. As far as I know, nothing is broken, but its definately damaged-- no feeling from the top joint up.

Sucks because Im a pianist... but Im getting around it.

I was asked to be on the Parent Advisory Board for Aaron's school! I emphatically accepted!! They wanted me for my youth and good ideas. They know I do my homework for my son and I really hope to give some good ideas that I've gleaned from here

Aaron starts RDI next month. He has been enrolled but her first session with him doesnt start till the 22nd-- when we get to do his assessment. Praise God it's covered by the school district-- RDI can be quite expensive. Our consultant is going to hook us up with the 5 hour long video that has been talked about (and passed around LOL) extensively here.

Hmmm what else is up-- I plugged Aryeh and Noah into public school this year. I was going absolutely crazy with the school materials I had and having 4 kids, one autistic, one baby, and Aryeh and Noah are really close in age-- trying to juggle all that at one time was absolutely rediculous! So we talked about it and moved them to a nearby school. They are learning WAY more than I could have taught them at this point. I did it mainly for my sanity's sake. I was having daily meltdowns because of all the stress. I wasnt loving being a mom anymore. I never had a break. Neither of us did. And the kids had no social life.

Now they are getting that much needed friend base. They had never really experienced the 'real world' till now.

By the time they're in 6th grade, we will pull them back home. There are resources in my state that use public school funding for home-schooling materials and they have a teacher to hold your hand thru it. I just want their elementary basics taken care of. When they want to take extracurriculars like band or orchestra, they are allowed to go to the schools and take those- they can't be excluded simply because they are home-schooled. So they will still see their friends.

I figured Happi was moving since I havent seen her in several days. Poor kid-- I hated moving while pg-- its no fun no matter what trimester you're in. (I moved at 8.5 months with #1 and 6 months with #3-- BLAH!)

Anyway-- its late and I need to take a shower before I go to bed.

Good to see u again. It was good to read about you and your fam!! Crack me up that you forgot your anneversary!! My parents BOTH did that one year. We were camping and they were wondering what day it was and when they checked the calendar they both busted a gut laughing. I think we celebrated their anneversary with S'mores, oreos and hot cocoa LOL!

Oh-- and the name--

I go by ManderMcButterpants most other places that I post. I could change my name to JungleMcButterpants... or OvarianAroma... the name Mili so lovingly came up with...

Oh jeez-- I just remembered something-- Victoria has had a bad habit of going into the bathroom and taking tampons out and littering them through out the house.

Noah came into the bathroom with one *unwrapped* and had it between his two fingers-- posing like he was smoking a cigar. I said "Well noah... you look like George Burns dont you?" (he knows who burns and allen are btw)

He looked at me and said "Pledge of Allegience guy George Bush?"

Good thing I was already sitting on the toilet...

Shheeesh - kids say screamingly funny things.

Talking of kids I have a complaint. Most mama's the world over are supposed to/ and are able to sing to their babies. You know cradle the child and sing songs to soothe. The familar sound of mamas voice, resting against her chest, washing away the worries of the world.

Well someone should tell Melee - she is two now and I have never been able to sing to her. Ok so I am not a trained singer but it has dented my motherly pride when my babe shouts "OH...SHUT..UP..SHUT..UP...SHHHHUUUUTTTT UPPPPP" whenever I sing to her.

Jamned yer fingers huh! We have this odd quirk in our family. (Actually we have several but thats a different Dr Phil show) Whenever anyone seriously jamns their fingers we compose a song about it.

Here's Alice's song when her brother slammed the car door on her hand and she wound up with a black fingernail (and at the time I was sure broken fingers hence the trip to the doctors)

"I got jamed fingers near two dead horses and a cow.
I got jamend fingers near two dead horses and a cow,
Mummy took me to Balclutha,
to go and see the doctor,
now I've only got 9 fingers and an OW!"

The horses by the way were not dead, they were just lying down in the paddock as we drove past and got included in the song.

This is Hazels - her fingers were jamned in the van door when she was four. So this song is 14 years old now.


"I got jamned fingers in Tokoroa,
Just outside of Deka
So mummeeeeeee
bought me a purple bunneeeeeee
and I called him
JAMMED FINGERS"

Tokoroa is a town, Deka (was) a department store like Wallmart and it was easter - hence the toy rabbit that was bought for her.

Somehow composing songs helps when trying to distract a crying kid

When I was severely burned with boiling water down my legs many years ago I composed new swear words and nouvelle cussing.

Sorry about your hand. God I hate work. Good for you getting out there to earn some dollars. I have tried working in years past I am crap at it. It goes like this. I like the boss, I do something dumb, the boss tells me off, I decide I hate the boss and within 12 days I have resigned. Something mentally wrong with me, probably another Dr Phil show.

DO NOT beat yourself up about sending kids to school. Hell you just have to do what works. Most of us are just making things up as we go along. Half the rules in this house were invented and plucked out of thin air. I have homeschooled for some years and not for others. You just do what works as life goes along.

I have no idea what the thing is you got asked to do, parent advisory board thingy but it sounds like a real vote in your favour to have been selected. Just dont let the extra hours burn you out.

Well I am off to paint birds to sell. Kids are watching thunderbirds the movie with dad. And the new puppy is barking at the cats.

Catch you later.

Nice to see you there Superwoman!