tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-153095612024-03-13T01:11:06.937-04:00Mommy Needs Therapy...or a bottle of wine."Who are you?" my son asked me when he was five. I didn't have an answer for him. Join me as I attempt to figure this out.Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.comBlogger701125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-60415249259374687212015-08-13T21:26:00.000-04:002015-08-13T21:27:21.995-04:00And then we moved!Oh baby it has been a busy three months!
Yup, we sold our house! We closed on the new house July 17 (two days late) after some bank shenanigans with our buyers mortgage company.
Lesson learned: social media can be very powerful! Wells Fargo can pretty much #suckit, but call them out on Facebook and you might get your own personal customer service specialist assigned to your complaint, which in Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-66457555401136232952015-05-27T17:29:00.001-04:002015-05-27T17:30:00.660-04:00Update to "Neighbors - you can't live with them and you can't make them move. A three part series in why I wish we could move to the middle of nowhere so I didn't have to navigate difficult social interactions with other adults. Part 3." So technically I guess this is Part 4.Less of an update and more of Part 4 in a 3 part series. Or maybe just another excuse for a really long title.
So no, I can't make my neighbors move. But it turns out I CAN! Or actually WE can!
If you read the update I wrote on Part 3 you will know that my plan to make peace with wall sharing neighbor didn't actually go as planned.
Instead I owe her a huge thank you because her judgmental Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-84707496991720422942015-04-09T22:59:00.000-04:002015-04-09T22:59:41.825-04:00Neighbors - you can't live with them and you can't make them move. A three part series in why I wish we could move to the middle of nowhere so I didn't have to nagivate difficult social interactions with other adults. Part 3You had to know this post was coming right? I mean I can't write
about neighbors without including The Other Family (hereafter known as
TOF).
If you haven't figured it out, TOF is the family
from last fall. If you don't know what I'm talking about you can go
back a few posts to what I wrote in October. There hasn't been much
writing in between so it shouldn't be difficult to find.
Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-65491662720116989232015-04-08T09:30:00.000-04:002015-04-08T09:30:00.088-04:00Neighbors - you can't live with them and you can't make them move. A three part series in why I wish we could move to the middle of nowhere so I didn't have to nagivate difficult social interactions with other adults. Part 2.I love the neighbors on one side of us. They are a very nice family. Their kids are adorable. They are kind. And tolerant. And quite honestly, since I don't think living next to us is the easiest thing to do, they get extra props in my book just for putting up with us as long as they have!
Unfortunately, they are in the process of selling their townhouse and will move away in the next month or Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-12794187210469200322015-04-07T14:12:00.000-04:002015-04-07T14:12:57.383-04:00Neighbors - you can't live with them and you can't make them move. A three part series in why I wish we could move to the middle of nowhere so I didn't have to nagivate difficult social interactions with other adults. Part 1.
I hesitate to say this out loud, but I think it may finally be spring. The windows are open, the birds are singing, the cats are happy alternating between sleeping in front of the open windows and chattering at the birds.
The basketball hoop is set up in the driveway and the boys just want to play outside! When the kids (mine and the rest of the neighborhoods) aren't in school I hear them Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-79604142115536481932015-01-04T12:45:00.000-05:002015-01-04T12:45:00.250-05:00When skillets grow.This blog needs some lightening up after my last few posts, so I'm going to share a funny about Kiel.
My meals are very small these days, so I asked Rich to get me some smaller pans, specifically a small cast iron skillet.
He took me seriously when I said "small" and ordered a 3 1/2 inch skillet for me from Amazon.
It arrived and we both had to laugh because it was so tiny. Like doll kitchen Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-79326123575450668612015-01-03T18:17:00.000-05:002015-01-03T18:17:02.587-05:00This thing I did for me. (AKA a post weight loss surgery update.)In my last post, almost two months ago, I mentioned I had abdominal surgery. To be more specific, I had bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery). To be even more specific I had the vertical gastric sleeve ("sleeve") procedure. Approximately 85% of my stomach was removed, but unlike with a gastric bypass, my intestines were not affected.
I have no intention of turning this blog into a weight loss Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-10994406322151234292014-11-11T01:26:00.000-05:002014-11-11T01:26:49.952-05:00Rebuilding the wall I apologize for taking so long to let everyone know we are okay. Initially we were thrown back into crisis management. Fortunately we have an awesome team to go to for help, and the experiences with CPS, etc. were very positive and reassuring as you will see below. Life has settled back down for us. I had abdominal surgery last week, which meant I spent the week before preparing to be out of workKristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-28716335834715219852014-10-07T22:58:00.000-04:002014-10-08T16:53:42.636-04:00And the walls came tumbling down around us
I wrote this a couple weeks ago but didn't have a chance to finish it at the time.
For the first time in many years we aren't living in constant crisis mode. There are still moments with Noah, sometimes even daily, but we are handling them better and we are seeing progress despite them. Noah is doing better right now than we have ever seen him. It's amazing.
Now that Kiel is in Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-43297452932993518802014-08-24T00:16:00.001-04:002014-08-24T00:16:39.690-04:00And finally - I bring you the NOWI promised you an update weeks ago and clearly my follow through sucks.
The concise version is that Noah is doing so much better.
The longer version starts with Noah being discharged from the hospital after 22 days. He wasn't really better, he was just different. His emotions were back. All of them, not just anger. He wanted to come home. The next step typically would be a week or two of Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-73387514867944676262014-07-01T22:54:00.000-04:002014-07-02T13:42:36.638-04:00The During - You don't get casseroles when your child is in the nut houseAnother post from the time Noah was in the hospital.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I get that people don't always know what to say to me. My honesty about what is going on with Noah is uncomfortable for some.
Having a child at a psychiatric hospital isn't the same as if they were
in a "real" hospital. At least that is what most people think. Noah
might not be Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-22867334338394896582014-07-01T22:35:00.000-04:002014-07-01T23:15:26.729-04:00The During - A day in the life of a psych unit momAnother post I wrote but didn't go back and publish. I thought about not posting it at all, but someday another mother will be going through this and maybe they will find this post. If it can help her by reading about someone else having been there, well, then the words stay.
I wrote this about two weeks into his stay.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the most part IKristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-55467925156418284322014-06-30T12:57:00.001-04:002014-06-30T12:57:22.849-04:00The Time BetweenI wrote this shortly after Noah came home from the hospital. I was letting it sit overnight before I posted it. Obviously I never came back to it.
To those of you who have commented recently asking how we are doing, and to all my other readers, thank you! Thank you for caring about us! Thank you for pushing me to update!
This post is about how things were. I will post again about Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-14123195650170580892014-03-13T17:03:00.000-04:002014-03-15T01:31:17.388-04:00His Empty RoomI have looked forward to Noah's first night away from home for several years. It is a right of passage after all.
I always thought it would be his first sleepover with a friend, or a night with grandma and papa. Maybe his first time at summer camp.
I always thought his first night away would have happened by now.
I have mourned the absence of invites from friends and grandparents.
I never Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-88800158787639337582014-02-24T20:01:00.001-05:002014-02-24T20:02:04.925-05:00Decisions: When the head knows, but the heart is saying "la la la...shut up bitch, I can't hear you."We find ourselves in the unenviable position of having to make a very difficult decision regarding Noah. The most difficult decision we have faced yet. It's not that we haven't made difficult decisions about his care in the past, and I know we will likely face even more difficult decisions in the future, but this one just sucks. It means we have taken that next step forward on the path of Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-72649319943891139572014-02-06T20:05:00.000-05:002014-02-06T20:05:08.599-05:00Sometimes I bend, but I will not break.There are times when the weight of the responsibility of raising Noah to be a decent, independent adult that is able to function in society threatens to break me.
I don't think I'm supposed to admit that though.
As the parent of a child with special needs I should be worthy of hearing "I don't know how you do it," "I couldn't do what you do," and "he is so lucky to have you."
When I Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-3813106287223956912013-10-31T12:12:00.000-04:002013-10-31T12:13:27.418-04:00Too funny not to share!An email from Noah's teacher last week.
--------
Original message --------
From: awesome teacher
Date: 10/25/2013 1:31 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: Noah's mom
Subject: umm...help! :)
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-61212443808231113162013-10-14T09:00:00.000-04:002013-10-14T09:00:05.322-04:00Stigma is an AssholeOh boy do I have some stories I need to tell. Soon. Hopefully, I will have time soon.
Tonight I want to talk about stigma. Last week was Mental Illness Awareness Week. I didn't know about it though until mid-way through the week. Probably because I've been so busy the last two weeks dealing with my sons mental illness.
Is it considered irony, or just coincidence, that tonight I write about Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-64469414581520872332013-10-09T22:12:00.000-04:002013-10-09T22:12:58.309-04:00This was last week. It's not over.Since the incident at soccer Noah has become increasingly fast. Not fast like "wow, watch that kid run" fast, but "wow, this kid is manic" fast. Or in other words, Noah's been riding the wackadoodle express, and frankly, it doesn't look like he's headed for a station any time soon.
Typically, Noah holds himself together at school fairly well. He's able to do that because of his awesome teacher Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-14333030368020124092013-09-30T11:23:00.000-04:002013-09-30T11:23:00.145-04:00Conversations with KielIt's time to lighten things up a bit I think, and I have a handful of funny stories from the last couple weeks that all deserve a blog post. Maybe I'll actually write them.
Snuggling in bed with Kiel the other night and he was telling me about one of the girls in his kindergarten class and how she likes his new hair cut. Apparently she is his girlfriend and he's going to marry her. I asked whenKristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-35046342830110794502013-09-29T23:14:00.000-04:002013-09-29T23:14:39.963-04:00Update to "And then this happened...(episode two: the asshat parent)"So after I wrote this post, we received a group email from the faux coach.
Hi
Parents, I would like to sincerely
apologize to Noah's parents. I should've handled it privately with
them. My emotions got the best of me and I feel awful the way I handled
it.
I am VERY sorry.
I appreciate that he apologized, and I'm sure he does feel bad. I wish I could accept it with more grace Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-60133482714622480872013-09-29T12:32:00.000-04:002013-09-29T22:19:55.434-04:00And then this happened...(episode two: the asshat parent)Soccer today. Noah's been playing great this season. Watching him play is always the highlight of my week.
Today was no exception while he was on the field.
Off the field however...*sigh* Turns out when he wasn't playing he was dumping out the other kids water bottles. It wasn't just Noah, but my guess is he started it.
We played a team from a neighboring township. They are undefeated Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-39335052731179896732013-09-28T16:07:00.000-04:002013-09-28T16:07:34.302-04:00Well this happened...(episode one: the gracious parent)I kind of, maybe, hope anyway, that we kind of might have had a bit of a breakthrough with Noah this week. Or maybe not. It's hard to say.
The not so short version is that Noah and the boys next door (the ones we share a driveway and backyard with) got into it the other night. Noah's version includes the other boys threatening to kill him with a plastic baseball bat. (Now, to his credit I did Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-74581317881499730912013-05-16T22:49:00.002-04:002013-05-16T22:49:49.948-04:00The ladies live to sag another day!!Benign!!!!!!
Such a relief. While I was working very hard at not being worried, underneath it all I was scared. Obviously.
Thank you for everyone's prayers and good wishes!
Kristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15309561.post-64212679468057715542013-05-12T23:19:00.000-04:002013-05-12T23:19:35.024-04:00A long and rambling post about needles, boobs, titanium and puppies.
A cool little factoid about my husband is that he works at a cancer center and has been there forever 20+ years, so he knows just about everyone else that works there. It's really handy when you need your annual mammogram because not only do they offer it to spouses for free, but he just has to call over to one of the many women that work there that think he's the greatest to schedule it for meKristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401725929395230941noreply@blogger.com3