Watch Out for a Crazy Person Near You

I have constant reminders of the beauty of life in the faces of my husband and sons and family and friends. However, every once in a great while, I am faced with the UGLINESS of human beings. Unfortunately, it just happened to me a few days ago.

I was driving in my car, with Ricky in the back seat and we had just come from Target where I bought Teddy all his school supplies. I was driving in the right lane and there was a big black Suburban on the my left. The woman swerved and didn't notice me. I looked at her and she was on the phone and distracted. She was older - in her 70s. I honked at her - not to be a jerk but to say "here I am. Watch out. Please don't hit me." She got pissed off. The lanes were merging and I got ahead of her and started to merge in front of her in the left lane. She decided that she hated my gutts and sped up alongside me (into ONCOMING TRAFFIC) and crashed her car into my side mirror. I was aghast and stepped on the gas to get in front of her. I drove a few streets and turned down a side street - and she followed me - blaring her horn all the way. Ricky was like "what the heck mom!"

I am a great driver. Not one ticket since 1992! That's 20 years ago! So anyways, she parked alongside me and started yelling every swear word in the book at me. I stayed calm the entire time and told her to please stop with the bad language - my son is in the back seat. So the cop came. I was lucky - the police officer was a woman - maybe older than me. She saw right through this lady for the psycho she really is. The woman who hit me told us that she just came from her neurologist and was on many prescription drugs!! The officer asked for our licenses and insurance and the woman didn't have insurance. Then she told the officer that her husband was a cop. Turns out he is retired. Lucky for me, the cop was on my side. She was annoyed with this woman and gave her a ticket for no insurance. She listened to both our stories and believed my side (thank god). She even had the cop talk to her husband on the phone - TWICE. The cop was so angry and was yelling at the both of them.

The cop liked me a lot. I was calm, respectful, and even though I wanted to yell back at that crazy woman I was silent. Ricky was cold and had to pee. I wanted it all to go away and go home. I wanted to sit on my couch and watch the news.

My mirror folded and went forward when she hit me and it dragged a 15 inch line of paint on her car. Our damage is so minor that we aren't getting it fixed. I called our insurance company and told them everything and told them not to give that lady a dime. So far it's been quiet and nobody has filed a claim under my name. Maybe the fact that she had no proof of insurance gave her more to deal with.

Anyways, she is crazy. Literally. So of course I am freaking out that she is going to leave stink bombs at my front door. The crash report has our addresses. The cop let me leave and we didn't exchange phone numbers - the cop said "You don't want this crazy B**** to call you. You are free to go home." The crazy woman kept threatening me and telling me I was going to pay, that she was going to get me, etc.

I wish that besides a don't drink and drive law that there was one against driving while taking prescription meds because you are a lunatic and shouldn't be on the road where you are succeptible to road rage against mothers with young children who just want to get home and make dinner.

So thanks to the internet it's easy to find out where I work. So I warned my work associates to please not tell anyone when I work next in case someone comes in asking for me. I am praying she doesn't come in looking for a book or something and I have to HELP her!! UGH. I would rather steer her in the direction of the Self Help/you-are-crazy books.

Anyways, Teddy has his first day of preschool tomorrow. I am a total wreck. His Thomas the train back pack is ready, his school supplies and paperwork are ready. I just hope he'll be okay. I hope he doesn't cry and the 5 adults in the classroom catch any shenanigans before anything happens. Because if something happened, he can't tell me. Please let this be the right thing for him.

Now Eat This!

In between keeping my children alive and making sure our house doesn't look like an episode of Hoarders, I've been sneaking in a page or two of a book, or watching 10 minutes of a show while I fold a basket of laundry. It certainly helps I've been working much more now so I can grab whatever I want at the library.

Now Reading:

How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway

Now Perusing:

Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley - The Flylady

DVDs Watched this weekend:

Super 8 - Really enjoyed but thought the ending was too abrupt.

Parenthood - Season 1 - Didn't watch the whole season while it was on, so thought I would catch up on the ones that got away.

The final Harry Potter movie - Yes, we are *that* far behind. We tried to watch it last night and I fell asleep. Mark stayed up and watched the entire thing and said it was great. So much for watching movies together!

Random Mommy Banter About Stuff

Since Teddy finished Early Intervention and we had our IEP meeting, we've been in waiting mode for his placement letter. It's been a few weeks so I made a few phone calls and the letter is coming and they will need to "call me to discuss." I take that to mean that maybe since it's already almost February and the middle of the school year that there may not be openings in schools that are closest to our house. They told us he qualifies for bus service and let me tell you there is no way in hell I am putting my 3 year old who doesn't speak much on a bus by himself!!!

Since I am not running Teddy to therapy and therapy playgroup appointments, I've been spending more time with him at home while I organize our new place. I like not running around because the quality of time I spend with him is so much better. While I think the Early Intervention helped him in many ways, I was disappointed in the speech therapy. I think she could have come more than once a week but didn't want to. I loved her - she was a sweet person but it was hard to see much progress when he only gets it once a week. But it was free and nothing is perfect I guess.

I guess there would be nothing wrong with keeping him home and sending him to preschool in the fall. The therapists strongly urged us to get him in preschool right away for socialization, etc. I want him to go to Ricky's school for preschool and I think it's best to have continuity so after I see where the placement is, I'll call the preschool teacher at Ricky's school to see what she thinks of Teddy and if he would be okay to start in September given his speech.

I love Ricky's school. Transferring him was the best decision. The school just won the President's Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence in the fall. Ricky is enjoying it and the kids are nicer than the other school (so he says) so that's great. They just had a standardized test earlier this month and Ricky scored in the 3rd-4th grade level for math (OMG) but he scored average for Reading and Phonics. The "problem" is that the average for the first grade kids at his school is well above the national average (40+ points above the national average!!) so even though Ricky scored 'average" it's below the average of the other first grade kids at his school. I guess they started teaching reading in kindergarten at his new school. Meanwhile, Ricky had a joke for a teacher who didn't teach and just treated the class like it was summer camp at his old school. So that means I'll be spending a lot more time on reading and phonics with him - which I love doing - so he can be "above average."

So let me brag about my eldest little boy for a moment. He is amazing at the cello - his teacher keeps telling me he plays better than the 4th graders he teaches. He is also doing very well in karate - he is now a Red belt with one stripe from his last belt exam. He loves it and just learned a new kata. He wants to compete in the next tournament in a few weeks. I will be more nervous than he will be! I am so proud of him and hope he continues to be so driven.

Potty training update - I read Teddy the potty books and talked to him about it and he doesn't seem to be interested. I asked Ricky to show Teddy when he pees and Ricky just says "No way Mom!!' Well can't say I blame him. Not sure I'd like someone to watch me every time I peed, but just thought it would be such a great inspiration for Teddy.... ok next on the list - dvds I guess...

On the home front, both my mom and my MIL will be having surgery next month. They will both need help so there will be lots of shuffling around.

Tonight we'll be seeing "Super 8" after the kids go to bed. I'm going to bake an apple pie and eat it with vanilla ice cream while it's still hot from the oven. Oh yeah, and we have tons of alcohol left over from the parties so it will be nice to have a lot of choices this evening!

Hopeful and Sneaky

Happy new year and all that stuff. I am really happy to see 2011 go. It was a hard year for many reasons. The good news though is that we finally moved to our new house the weekend before Thanksgiving. It's a better house for us in so many ways and the kids are very happy there so we're excited about organizing and decorating our new home.

Christmastime was a bit stressful. The entire family got sick for 3 weeks - so much so that Ricky even missed the school Christmas pageant! He wasn't upset about it but it was too bad - you're only in 1st grade once. It would have been a good video to watch years in the future!

We celebrated Teddy's 3rd birthday the first week of January. I can't believe my baby boy is 3 already! His Early Intervention stuff ended and we had his IEP meeting last week. He qualified for a blended program in a preschool and now we're waiting to see what kind of a placement he receives. I hope the school is good, the kids are nice to him, and the school is nearby. We'll see. I am nervous every time I check the mailbox! In the meantime, I am going to start potty training him tomorrow - wish me luck!

Last weekend I pulled off 2 surprise parties for my husband's 40th. The first was a surprise dinner with our friends at an Italian restaurant. He thought he was just going to eat dinner with me (which is more than enough) but the hostess blew it when she said our name and "Party for 11" when we came in. I didn't warn her it was a surprise so I don't fault her. Mark was excited nonetheless.

Then after dinner, I had about 15 more friends waiting at our house to surprise him. He wanted to go out to a bar with our friends but I told him I had a cake and a party ball waiting for him at our house. So he agreed. He was shocked to walk in our house and see more friends. It was nice. It was tricky doing the guest list - I limited it to *his* friends - not mine. My sister and BIL did a great job being my secret helpers. I am a horrible liar and bad at sneaking around. I would never have an affair but if I did I would be busted in a heartbeat. I had to have all the party supplies and decorations ready and hidden for them. It was hard because Mark walks around every corner of the house. It was so incredibly busy the day of the party that when I picked up the balloons, I failed to notice that the $9.99 balloon that was a big 40 that I had ordered was actually a big 50!!! Our friends thought it was funny. I was kicking myself for not checking. Oh well.

My mom then surprised him a few days later with a surprise party with our family. She taught us all how to play mah jong and now I am hooked! Will need to look for a set at some point.

Anyways, I am very hopeful for a good year. Despite the forecast of the apocalypse, let it be a good one. I have decided to take my bucket list by the horns and try to do the things I want to do "some day." My husband agrees. Thank god we have good health insurance! Ice skates (and other things) here I come!!

Sort of Losing My Mind

Things are super busy and I thought I had a good handle on everything until I realized yesterday that I sent Ricky to school the previous week on picture day in his best outfit but forgot to send in the photo order!! Duh. And then I also realized that I forgot to send in Teddy's papers for his transition to the public school system for preschool - which he is supposed to start in January! Bad mommy.

Today I meet with Ricky's teacher for parent teacher conferences. This should be good - she is nice and Ricky is doing well in school. I am curious to see what she has to say. All is good from his reports, but I want to know what she says. He says he fits in and he listens. His papers are always 100%. I just hope he is happy in school - since it's new and everything.

Ricky attended his first birthday party from kids from his old school the other day. It was a zoo and there are a few kids in particular who are mean-spirited. A few things happened but in general I don't miss those boys (with the exception of about 5 who are Ricky's friends). The parents were nice and were curious about the school change and I told them how it all happened - with Zac's speech therapy and the learning about the awesome peanut/tree nut accommodations. I spoke to another peanut dad at the party and told him about Ricky's new school and the peanut stuff. I hope that school changes its ways or something bad will happen - again.

Busy Bee, Busy Me

I laugh at myself for claiming to be "back" only to not blog for the entire summer. Really, just one blog entry this whole year? How sad of me.

We had a great summer - everyone was healthy, no family members in the hospital, no accidents. We even managed to take a few days and took the boys to Wisconsin Dells. It made them very happy. They are both water people and love the pool so much so it was perfect. Mark started a new job in May and so far, so good.

Ricky started first grade and after the first week of school, Teddy's speech therapist told me that another nearby private school offered kids from K-8th grade speech therapy up to 3 times a week for its students. I called the principal and she confirmed this was true so I asked what their accommodations were for peanut/tree nut allergy kids and it was amazing what she told me. I'll have to write a post just about that topic because it is wonderful all by itself.

Based on the peanut/nut policy alone, we decided to transfer him immediately. Mark and I came in and met with the principal, toured the school, and pulled Ricky out that very day. He has now gone to the new school for 7 school days, has made a bunch of friends, and says he loves it. It's been pretty stressful, but I am relieved.

I am so blessed that my mom is retired and helps me with the boys. Besides school, Ricky has swimming lessons, karate lesson, cello lesson, and children's orchestra rehearsals every week. The cello was entirely his idea. It's great and I am thrilled he enjoys it. That just started the last few weeks. New school, new instrument. His teacher also heads the children's orchestra. 10 girls and 3 boys. Everyone plays violin except Ricky who is the only cello. He doesn't mind - he gets to sit. I personally love the cello with its low, soulful.

Teddy has speech therapy, developmental therapy, occupational therapy, Speech/OT playgroup, and Toddler Gymnastics every week. He is just a toddler but I already feel what some parents of older kids may have with 2 kids in sports and activities.

My boss has asked me to work 40 hours a month now (was 4 hours a month for the past year) so it's quite an adjustment. The job is nice and easy but it's the logistics of getting everything done with the kids and house and the running to and from that gets me frazzled. I feel like I'm becoming an old lady who obsesses over little things. I actually bought a momAgenda to keep me organized about where I need to be, where the kids need to be, and everything in between. I love it.

Teddy's speech is really getting better. He is using a lot more words and now we're working on putting 2 words together to make a sentence. It's so sad when I see a kid who is the same age asking his mom for this and that at the store while my Teddy uses one word here and there and grunts. He just had his annual meeting with all his therapists this past Tuesday and they recommended the Speech/OT playgroup which consists of 9 kids all the same age who have speech delays. He did a great job his first time this week. He will go to preschool in January already! He's not even potty trained yet but I guess that doesn't matter.

Anyways, it's a new start for Ricky at this new school. So glad he is liking it. Hoping for a great school year.

I'm Back!!!

I haven't blogged since last December when Ricky had the peanut butter scare. So many things have happened since and I just never got blogging back into my mommy routine. I also have not read any of my favorite bloggy friend blogs and I am hoping all the people I read about are fine. I plan on doing lots of catch-up.

It is now May and I can't believe I've been off blogger for that long. In a nutshell, here are the highlights of my life:

1. We had a good Christmas despite the roll of bad luck.

2. Ricky recovered from peanut butter attack. I spend hours at his school in meetings with the principal and assistant principal and I trained almost 20 lunch/recess parents on how to use an epi-pen.

3. Mark fractured his foot! He is still wearing the boot.

4. Mark got a new job!

5. My dad and stepmom visited for 2 weeks and stayed in my house. Nice to catch up with dear old dad!

6. Teddy had a medical diagnostic test by a world renown neurological pediatrician, and 5 therapists last week. After worrying that his speech delay is a sign of a brain problem or some form of autism, we are thrilled beyond belief that their conclusion is just an isolated speech delay and nothing more. Good news! Now Teddy is getting speech and development therapies weekly and now I am waiting for him to get approved to attend City Kids - which is a center where he can get occupational therapy for sensory stuff.

7. I'm a proud mama so bear with me while I brag about my kid a bit!

Ricky is really thriving in karate class. He is practicing his kata more than the arm pit farts now. He will have a belt test in 2 weeks - but I'm guessing he'll get stripes instead of a red belt. You have to be flawless to just skip the 5 stripes and get the belt - but we'll see.

Ricky also brought home a near perfect straight A report card. I couldn't be happier. Of course my family members rewarded him for each A and he was more than glad to fill his piggy bank. As a kid, my sister and I both got compensated for each A. Besides enjoying the achievement and doing it for yourself, it was nice to save up for that special thing.

8. Teddy turned 2 and Ricky turned 6!

Well those are the highlights since my last post. Looking forward to warmer weather and playing outside more. We're going to a play date this afternoon with about 5 other moms. Am I the only crazy person who will only invite 2 moms maximum- over? I think 5 moms with their kids is too many people - especially when they have little kids too. The 6 year old boys can take care of themselves though - so maybe it's not so bad.

I have bumped into Mandy (the mean mom) at birthday parties a few times and at the last one she was VERY VERY nice. I was nice back to her, of course, but after what happened, I just want to keep it cordial. No more play dates. No more inside information about my life. She started asking me personal information like we were friends again and I didn't want to share. I know that everything I tell her will be told to the 4 other moms in her circle (who I used to be friends with). She was the one who broke it off with me so why would I want to go back there? I am trying my best to take the high road and not tell anyone about what they did to me.

The new moms I am befriending keep asking me about the other moms and cliques and I just smile and say nothing. They have such a positive attitude toward the other moms and don't see the cliques and I don't want to ruin it for them. But I feel bad letting them find out by themselves and be victim to the B.S..... I don't know.