Happy Birthday To Me!!!

My husband actually managed to plan and pull off a surprise birthday party for me on Saturday! My sister, my cousins and I had just been saying that we should have family reunions like normal people instead of only seeing everyone at Christmas or a funeral. Our good friend (and my best drinking pal) Larry helped him cook the crabs (Thanks for your help Jimmy!). My sister baked the cake and even drew a very good Smurfette on it. Matt, my brother made jello shots and My Aunts Sharon and Mary loved them!! It was great!! I very much enjoyed it.

Yesterday was my actual birthday. We hit Walmart for groceries and I got the rest of Jarrett's school supplies that we need. Here's what I don't get. Last year they asked for all these dividers, index cards, notebooks and binders. At the end of the year, most of these things came home unopened. While his dad bought school supplies last year, it still irks me that we wasted money on all this stuff and he didn't even use it. It is possible that Mrs. Mac decided that it would be easier if Jarrett did things a different way. Hopefully this year he actually uses all this junk. I also used money that I got for my birthday to buy a video camera!!

Tyler brought Lila over to play since they missed the party Saturday and she was wild to play with Max. Jarrett also returned from vacation and Max was in heaven having his brother home and his favorite cousin to play with. The kids played all afternoon. The adults drank leftover beer from the party and Tyler and I finished off the crabs. It was a good birthday (even if my brother wanted to call the fire department to report a controlled burn when we lit the candles on the cake!)

autism

Mom, Max Stole My Imaginary Friend!!

The last week has been a very full one. My cousin died of cancer on Saturday. She had been fighting it for 4 years and couldn't hang on any longer. We'll miss you Dorothy.
Jarrett left to go on vacation with his dad. But before he left he invented an imaginary friend, Sam the Sandwich. Last Thursday he was giving Sam piggy back rides up and down the hallway. That night, all the grown ups were in the living room/kitchen and this is what we here from down the hall"Mom, Max stole my imaginary friend!!". Our solution was to have Jarrett either snatch Sam back and say you don't have him or tell Max no you don't have him, he's over here. It's never dull around here. Max has discovered you can unlock doors in the house with popsicle sticks. He knew you could stick things in the locks and lock the doors. Jarrett had locked himself in the bathroom to keep Max out so Max got the idea to stick a popsicle stick in the lock and unlock it. Now nothing is safe.
Max misses Jarrett and can't wait for him to get back. Tuesday at the library he was going to check out movies Jarrett likes so he would have them to watch. He keeps asking if Jarrett will be home on this day (which is Max speak for today). He did get to spend a day at Grandma's and went swimming and out on the boat and just had a great time.

Amusing Ourselves

Yesterday while Jarrett drew pictures Max and I decorated the kitchen window with Bendaroos. We had a good time trying to stick them to the window. He also helped Mom-Mom harvest "momo" beans from the garden. We bought some green beans once that had Elmo on the can so they have become momo beans. Max is so excited that Mom-Mom can grow these at home!

I had to work last night. The manager is back from vacation so that means the store will stop falling apart now. While she was gone the gas pumps went crazy. You could come in and pay but that didn't always mean you could pump your gas when you got back outside. The keypads wouldn't work so no debit cards outside. The Diet Pepsi in the fountain soda dispenser quit working. Everyone in Caroline County needed a boat ramp permit which only the manager can sell (unless one of the owners happened to be around at that exact moment!). So we were glad to see her back. Last night a group of vans parked and several people came in looking for antifreeze which we usually have. The shelf was empty and of course, the auto parts store behind us had just closed. Then, a boy came in and said he had run out of gas just up the road and he needed a gas can. We didn't have any of those either. Apparently we sold all the antifreeze, all our gas cans along with the usual staggering amounts of ice and beer this weekend!

Today is library day, then work again for me. Someone was whining this morning about cooking dinner for the boys again tonight. It's not like he cooks gourmet meals for them so I ignore all protests. This same person was also whining because he "has no clean shirts." He has clean shirts just not his favorite shirts to wear.

Smores and Fires and (Grumpy)Bears...Oh My!!

The boys were very wound up yesterday as we had promised to do a campfire and roast marshmallows and make smores. Max quickly lost interest in the marshmallows but had fun throwing sticks on the fire. Jarrett loved roasting marshmallows and making smores as he has done it before at my aunt's Christmas party and well, the boy loves chocolate.
No pictures or video since my camera refused to cooperate, which also caused a tiff. My darling husband woke up on the wrong side of the cave in the morning and didn't really improve his mood until later. He had somehow gotten the idea that I had gotten up earlier than I actually did and he wanted to know what I had been doing all that time (mostly since breakfast wasn't ready yet and as everyone knows, he likes to eat.) In reality we had let the boys stay up late and I got to sleep in for a change.
As for the camera, I've probably worn the thing out with all the picture taking and filming I do, so batteries don't last as long as I would like. The camera kept shutting itself off, which I found annoying and he evidently found my annoyance annoying. But it is frustrating when you want to get a picture or film the kids having so much fun and the camera just won't work. What I really need is a video camera.
Today was a very lazy day. We had breakfast, watched cartoons and the boys built a fort out of couch cushions and blankies. Mom and Pop took a nap, neither of them feels good. Of course, I've been fielding calls from those that know Pop is off work today , when people know he's home, suddenly their cars need to be worked on. We also filmed a Joey the Pirate Monkey episode called The Great Brain Freeze. Jarrett is impatiently waiting for the DVD to burn, he loves to watch his shows and when he goes on vacation with his dad, he can watch them all on the way there.

The Talented Mr. Maxwell

Max's medicine arrived yesterday so no more fighting with the insurance company or getting growth hormone from the drug company for the next year!! He really wanted to play with the cooler that it's packed in but I compromised and gave him the cardboard box instead. Otherwise we would have Christmas in July for sure, with styrofoam snow everywhere. He decided that the best use for his box was to ride his Mater truck down the hall with the box on his head like a helmet, smashing into the walls because he couldn 't see. Mikey had gotten home early and took a nap before dinner. After dinner, he asked me what all the noise was about and I explained what was going on. He just shook his head. Max is also the same child that has figured out that he can use a popsicle stick to unlock doors in the house. He's a boy of rare talent. I have a feeling when he goes to school next year, they may be calling me alot.

Bikes, Bugs and Max's Drugs

I had the grand privilege of working yesterday. Yes, I got to sell everyone ice, beer and gas as they made their way to wherever they were headed. I also got to explain to people that they were not lost (people get to Greensboro and automatically think they are horribly lost). The fun part was when we had closed one of the owners whose turn it is to open and close this weekend looked outside and noticed my ride home. We renewed Mikey's bike tags online the other day and he had brought me to work. Alan asked me if that was my way home and when I said yes he asked if I wanted him to drive me home. Evidently, he does not like motorcycles. I assured him that I would be fine, I've been doing this for years. I'm guessing motorcycles scare him. My dad had one (not a Harley) and in our family it's no big deal. Pop has a motorcycle license and rode it to work yesterday. Max loves to get rides ( around the yard, slowly, they don't make helmets small enough and I don't know if he could hold on tight enough to ride with Daddy on the road). I didn't tell Alan that my first ride was in Myrtle Beach at Bike Week, no helmets (no helmet law in SC), the poor man might have had a stroke.

Max was eagerly awaiting my arrival so we could set off the fireworks we got. He was so excited!! If anyone wants to know, those new Off clip on things really do work. Jarrett doesn't like bug spray so I try whatever alternatives I can. He has wristbands that also work very well. We clipped the Off thing on the back of Max's chair and in minutes he had stopped complaining about the mosquitos.

This morning, Max woke up with his tummy hurting him. He asked for a grilled cheese sandwich and he had just sat down to eat it while the rest of us were eating breakfast when he started getting sick. Apparently that was what he needed because he feels just fine now.

And, of course I get to work tonight. Tommorrow is phone call day!! We've been waiting for Max's medicine appeal to go through, I tried to get his refill and the claim was denied and with the help of his representative from the drug company that makes his growth hormones we appealed and have been waiting to find out what would happen. I got a letter Friday that he has been approved and authorized which is good for a year to get his medicine. So I get to call the specialty pharmacy and get everything in order. I also need to schedule Jarrett's physical and get his forms for camp and school done and make my own appointment to get 2 moles checked out . Always busy!!

Kiss Scootertrash & Paula Deen

I worked Wednesday night. My mother called me at 8:30 to say Max's Kiss Blankie (it's a cloth poster that we got at Walmart) was MIA. The poor boy was almost in tears because he couldn't find it and refused to go to bed without it. It was finally located in Jarrett's disaster area, much to everyone's relief. I was fully prepared to drive him to walmart and get another one if his couldn't be found by the time I got home. We did buy a spare at Walmart last night, just in case. When he fell in love with his blue blankie we got a similar one to have for a spare.

Today Max and Daddy are washing the bike since we got the tags renewed. Pop plans to ride it to work on the weekends. Max is also getting a bike ride from Daddy which he really loves to do. It's also a relax day since I have the grand privilege of working Saturday night and Sunday night.

This morning I was channeling my inner Paula Deen, trying a recipe she used on her show yesterday for a hashbrown casserole for breakfast. It turned out very good.

Happy 4th!! Drink a beer for me!!