WHAT!!!! my son? . . . .Are you sure?

Well, it has been quite a week. Last week was different but. . . wow. Sunday night at seven I was waiting for Nick to get back from DOS so I could make dinner. He was already late when the phone rang. Caller ID confirmed he lost track of time or so I thought. I expected a "Hey, didn't know it was so late. Can you pick me up?" Well, he needed a ride alright but it was not Nick's voice. It was Earl from DOS telling me Nick SOOO broke his wrist. The rest of this is a big old story I will have to get back to.

Wednesday I got a call from my parents needing to telling me that according to someone in the school office Wil had not attended a single day at Lincoln and was not in the building right now. He was about to be expelled and so was Nick. This was about 11:30 in the morning. I repeated information as if I must of heard it wrong! It just didn't seem like Wil. They had our information wrong in the computer as it was so I never received a single call! They have both missed some school being sick, late a few times and Nick with his wrist but come on!

I was in a hard place. I have had to miss work , come in late or leave early a few (too many) times since school started. My bosses are out of town at a trade show and I feel I'm on rocky ground as it is with a few doozy mistakes I have made of late. I didn't even know where to look or who to call. I was not mad at Wil but very concerned and miffed. After calling the school to confirm I asked that the expell get held off until I knew what was going on. I had just heard about all of this, come on! After making some calls and filling my co-workers in so they could take over my work I headed for home not sure what I would find.

Off I go

I'm glad Nick and I spent most of the weekend together. None of the usual "I'm going to (insert name here) house" or "we are going to DOS" (Burnside, OC Skate, Newberg) We hung out and co-existed while Wil was at Josh's house.

Friday night we ordered pizza and when WWE came on he claimed he didn't want to watch so he played on the computer. For someone not watching he made a lot of comments. I enjoyed having my knitting stash out and getting projects out the are not yet finished (UFO) so I can finish! It's fun to do while watching wrestling. It's close to using all parts of the brain at once!

I would like to give kudos to some of the wrestlers for taking hold of their careers and bodies taking wrestling more seriously. I noticed a couple months back that Chris Jericho (Y2J) beefed up and got rid of the "baby fat" he had going. I like him most of the time but he did get loser/whinny for awhile. He put on some muscle, got a hair cut and some 'tude. Way to go Chris.

Before the move to SmackDown Batista (Dave) slowly muscled up, got a mind of his own and finally learned some wrestling moves. He almost earns his self given nickname, The Animal." He is more entertaining to watch now. To me it's just not enough just cause you are tall and weigh a lot that you are a wrestler. There are some guys that when announced as next I will change the channel or go do something else until I hear it's over.

I really prefer the high flying, fast moves of the "smaller guys" like Ray Mysterio or the tough street fighting of Chris Benoit and John Cena. Yep , I'm a member of the chain gang. I don't want to have you stand there in the ring so we can marvel at your physique but rather your amazing skills and moves. Sorry, I'm back to the weekend now.

Nick fell asleep on Wil's bed watching TV Friday night after wrestling was over. I was really surprised but he did have a hard day. He got up "early" yesterday and today. Not his usual weekend routine. We both went to bed around 11:15 last night. It makes my usual relaxing weekend morning on the computer rushed. He has been up for the last 45 minutes waiting for me to be done. Bummer.

So I spent about three hours at Lint yesterday. They did help other customers but in the beginning it was fairly quiet so I had Laura to myself. We got the mohair to let go and tink away four or more inches of work on the front. The back had two rows to do but I needed two balls of yarn to work from after binding off the middle stitches for the head hole. The back is officially done! I need to go by measurements and mimic what I did on the back rather that following the pattern. I hope to get rolling again and go to open knit Tuesday just to be sure.

The sock news is not so good. Laura didn't think we could still use the pattern chosen, "bulk up" the yarn and use bigger needles. Not what I wanted to hear but a second opinion is in order.

I am excited that I'm using some yarn from my stash to make some cool stuff on MAX and at night when I'm tired. Something easy and fun to make. I really don't have that much but want to keep it at a minimum. I'd rather knit something that keep a yarn for the perfect project.

Nick just pointed out I have been on the computer for two hours while on the phone. He wants to go to a skate park and. . . I will quickly say that on our trip to the mall we had fun laughing and got some stuff done. He finally wanted to take his I-Pod in to get repaired but they gave him a new one. That cheered him a lot. We got a few things for it so he can down load from our computer. He came home and got to work on it. We did do some healing this weekend. I hope it is enough to keep a positive spin at school.

Fall is in the air

I woke up to a beautiful morning. The sun was up and basking the west hills in warm color that reflected off the windows. It made me smile. I love the views from my windows. I know it was a long road riddled with hassle and frustration but we are all happy to be here. I really love urban living!

My plan this morning is simple. I want to be over at Lint when they open today for several reasons. It may be my only chance before things change. That seems to be the way around here. I need assistance to finish the tinking I started on Tuesday night on my brief visit to open knit. There is a few flaws in the pattern from my cute K1 knitty magazine. While that is sad the nice thing Melissa (owner of Lint) said to me that I did follow the pattern so I'm not the one that messed up! I really want to figure out the corrections and finish the U vest. One thing about mohair that makes it a bit dicey to work with is how stretchy yet delicate it can be as a single strand. Meaning before it is knit up. In order to tink it I have to put it in the freezer for an hour or two before working to rip it out. Cool trick. (no pun intended)

The other thing is find some small/easy projects I can take with me in my pack to do at work and on the MAX. I will take samples of some of my stash to see if I can use it up. It is my goal to try to come up with new projects for stash yarn so it is removed from storage and keeps my fingers happy. (I MISS KNITTING!!!) I'm going to re-think the boys socks. The yarn we were directed to at Fabric Depot has me knitting on size 1 dpn (double pointed needles) which make tooth picks look fat! One way to still use the yarn is to combine it with another (so you are knitting two strands (or more) of yarn instead of one. It keeps the use of the yarn you already have and can make really unusual look. An example is a yarn called self striping mixed with a solid will give it a double pattern. I'll try to get pictures for those confused.

Nick and I are going to the mall to take care of some errands. I'm hoping he will let me get a new back pack. The rest of the story is that he was with his friend after they finished their homework in Flex. They skateboarded around the school area until 5:30. That's when the friends mom was done with her volunteer time at the school. Nick didn't need to take anything home so he put his backpack in his locker and went home. The next morning he went to put his board away and his locker had been pried open from the bottom with a tool - possibly a crow bar. The locker still locks but they got in without worrying about the lock already. They didn't (wont?) issue him a new locker. Also the keys to his PE locker were in the pack so they cut off the lock- not replacing it. No wonder he doesn't want to go to school there or replace things that matter to him. We have a lot of healing that needs to be done this weekend. My heart hurts for him. I'm hoping to have him pick what he wants to add to the yarn he already picked and get going on the socks they want!

Black Friday

I got a call this morning from the Vice Principal at Nick's school. Nick was in his office . . . . *my stomach hurt and I felt almost out of body* . . . his back pack was stolen out of his locker. My heart felt squeezed! He has been trying so hard this year! Last year was so hard on him and he is trying to follow every rule! We got a more expensive skate board back pack because at public school you aren't allowed to carry a skate board. If it is your transportation it has to be "carried" in/on a bag on school property. He sounded so young and sad on the phone that I cried after I spoke to the V.P. again. It is gone.

Choices

I really wanted to go to workshop tonight but needed a ride on this beautiful fall day more. After work I rode the over six miles from work to the Sunset Transit Center to catch the MAX. The route I went was buzy roads but it is what I know. Gayle is going to ride with me tomorrow to show me the much better bike path. I will end up on the Sylvan overpass and know from there how to go to Washington Park thus NW Portland. It was good to be out and relieving stress.

Needed to do some laundry and was nice to know I could get it dry and at my time. It's nice to hear our dryer it in the back round now. I am simple.

Tuesday

Well, it has been an odd day. I drove today so I could go grocery shopping after work. There is a WinCo less than a half mile from T.E. I got a call from Nick at 10:30am telling me he is sick and asks if he has permission to go home. At 11:10 he called from home to say Wil never went to school today. I told them both no computer or games. I told my bosses I had to go home and see why they were still "sick". I had to go to the store to get "sick food" anyway so I did the shopping. I didn't want to drive again. Wil was asleep when I got home but Nick was on the computer!

We had a family talk after Wil got up. I told them what I expect and what they need to do. They need to follow the rules if they want to live under my roof! I think we got it straightened out. We shall see.

In coming home with all that food I had to get more of the kitchen put away. It was good to have that more settled in. Thank you D.B. for the work you did in the kitchen for us last time you were here. It was a very sweet thing for you to do. I changed it a bit. Need to finish the rack now and I will be done.

After putting things away and telling them some of the meals I planned they asked me to make a forgotten old favorite for dinner. By the time I got it done Nick was asleep on the couch so I turned off the oven and covered the casserole. I took out my knitting (the u-vest) and looked it over to see where I was. Once I realized where my dilemma was I got dressed and headed over to Lint. I needed some advice and to purchase another pair of folding sissors as mine disappeared.

It was so nice to walk over there in the fading light in my wonderful neighborhood! I was getting so excited the closer I got. The thrill of how close it is to me now is insane! The lights of the windows with all the colorful projects is so inviting. Just before I got to the open door I could hear all the voices, smell the yarn, feel the buzz and party-like atmosphere of open knit. It felt sooo good to step in that door and see all the folks with their projects!

Lint catching

The weekend had some of the promise I had hoped for. I really cant complain about life right now except to say it is still moving much to fast! I really enjoy the simple things all the more. Time on the computer, the view from my main living area, having the laundry room to myself, the satisfaction of getting a lot done in a non-rushed manner. There were parts of my time off that were stressful and challengening but I made it through.

Two very nice things that happened this weekend are as follows. After spending most of three hours unloading over twenty boxes and putting things on the different shelves Wil said "Wow, it looks like home now." Nice.

The other thing that also caused me stress and totally invaded my personal space was my parents buying us a clothes dryer and setting it up. Of course it didn't just arrive and plug in. The plug was the wrong configureation and the hose was a bit short but It was very nice especially after the dry time and cost I have had in this building. Yesterday alone was $6.75 to dry 4 loads at least twice. That is so maddening!

I know there is more to this and other stories but I just dont have the time! As we get settled I will have time? My hopes for Me time this week are:
~ open knit at Lint on Tuesday eveing.
~ Farm team workshop Wednesday
~ Breen is teaching Thursday Academy
~ Friday having some other wrestling fans over for Smack Down.
~ Finally getting some folks together for a long form group to see if we have chemistry. That will happen Saturday afternoon.

Hopefully we will have a slower calmer week this week in my world! Take care all and Happy Monday!

A nice morning to type

Overall it has been a non-stop week (or more). How about I hit some of the highlights and what I hope my weekend will be. I will warn you I'm sleepy and haven't had much coffee but feel this is my chance to update. Read at your own injury.

So the week started out rocky and continued that way to the end. Wil has had the flu all week and has not been at school. He hasn't paid his fees, gotten a locker, books or his school ID card and still needs some school supplies. Now he is a week behind in all his classes. What can you do with a kid that is throwing up? No stress in his life, huh.

Nick was sick on Wednesday but went by the end of school to the Flex time to do his homework. He did the same thing on Thursday having thrown up both morning after getting out of bed. Finally on Friday he paid his fees, got his required P.E. shirts and his student ID. He still has no books for his classes but goes to Flex time and works with his teachers. A lot different than last year and I hope it stays positive. He needs someone to care, listen and set realistic boundries.

Nick's dad didn't want to take responsibility for the boys behavior so tried to get Wil into therapy (blaming me) and working with the public schools and a hand picked doctor (using his education background to influence) to get Nick diagnosed Bi-Polor. Nick and Wil were tired of their dad's controlling and lying so they were letting him know by actions since he was not listening to their words. You just cant parent with ignorance and a heavy hand.

I notice a big change in me and the way I do things now. (four years later) The "before" me would have come unwrapped at the horrible move, damage to furniture and not having things placed and live-in ready. What I mean by this is I would have had to have the kitchen moved in and the bedrooms. I would have already had most of the boxes unpacked and been "moved in". The relaxed realistic me knows the people not the stuff counts. The boys were sick this week and the evenings were our time together. I don't like the clutter and mess but I don't have the perfection tunnel vision. I did get little bits (mostly necessity) done the weekends D.B. was here but again that was our time so I didn't worry. The laundry taking five hours Sunday evening because the dryers in this place are so crappy stressed me out.

I enjoyed riding in the sprinkle (some called rain) yesterday to work. I had my beautiful red Gore jacket to keep me dry and wind free. Another perk of working at Team Estrogen. We sell so many of these jackets they (Gore and T.E.) give one to every employee! I will soon be getting a loaner headlight to use as long as I am employed at T.E. They do so much to encourage year around bike commuting it is awesome!

I so love the job, the people and the flexibility to ride and the discount/free items to make it more comfortable! I know I have a lot of great qualities to offer T.E. but I hope I'm not disappointing Susan and Jeff with some of the skills I'm not so confident in. Accounting and speed in the same sentence? I rock at other things and dealing with people. I don't want to beat myself up here. I'm doing my best and when I make a mistake it isn't on purpose.

So the hopes for the weekend are as follows:

~ a long stress reducing bike ride.
~ make the final decision on furniture placement in main living area and start unpacking and placing our stuff.
~ find a dresser and desk for the boys room!
~ do stress free laundry.
~ get "at one" with my knitting with a possible visit to Lint.
~ Go to Queer Knitting Sunday.
~ watch a movie and play a board game with my boys.
~ walk in my wonderful neighborhood.
~ read some Harry Potter.
~ put the fenders on my bike
~ relax

A shout out

Thanks for the directions to my bank Gayle. I know I didn't seem thrilled by the end of the day to ride to the bank but it did felt good. You were right about the distance being about five miles. I really want to look at your map next week! I will get to some of the stories I have not finished! Got to the horse yet?

Happy weekend all!

unbeliveable

As I'm sitting in front of my computer at work during lunch I find I have nothing to say. Now, that's not quite true. I think it's more like I have so much to say I'm unable to begin. I keep hoping things will slow down but. . .

The boys have had a stressful bit of time. Really for the last couple of years but specifically the last couple weeks. First the move that didn't go well and took forever! Trying to register for school and getting a major run around. They would fill out papers only to be told they needed something else. That went on for a week and up to the second day of school. They still don't have text books or all of the supplies they need. I heart public school. (don't even go there as I am a public school brat!) They both now have the flu that is going around. Wil has missed all week and Nick yesterday and today. They throw up and have fevers. I feel like a bad mommy because I cant stay home and take care of them but I have missed my train 3 times this week and been late for work. I really dislike being late and it isn't kosher in any work place.

I wanted to get back to my knitting now that I live mere blocks from Lint but besides a tour through last Saturday no knitty yet. This weekend is my goal to relax , putter and get back to "normal".

Time to back to work!

WOW

I and the boys have lived so much "stuff" in the last two weeks. We have touched many lives and they have touched ours. I would like to thank some people for their help, thoughts and prayers.

~ Deeg and Renee, Thank you for many different things. You took the boys whenever and usually did all the driving. You also listened to me and helped problem solve and plan. You two as individuals and a couple are always there for us.

~ D.B. , for all that you do for me and my boys on so many levels. You talk rock and zombies, play video games, cook and shop, listen to any and all of us and pump me up. Kisses my baby!

~Ken, you put up with me as a crappy flaky friend. You are so patient with me. You even go to a strip club with me for steak though it made you feel uncomfortable. You listen and do whatever to help me and my sons. You rawk!

~All the CSzers that help me personally and in improv. Some of you have helped without knowing. A few have even crafted with me! Thank you!

The good news you are waiting for? Still waiting.. . . . . It will be worth the wait!

I'm always here

What a wild bit of time! I finally got moved out of the old place with the help of my parents. Yes, there is quite a story going on there. More later.

Finally met Bron after chatting and flirting on blog and CSz intranet. Very adorable, nice, funny, forceful woman. Nick was impressed with her too. Sorry we didn't go out on the later round Saturday Bron but I/We had certain needs that could wait no longer. I'm sure you understand. It was great to meet you and get a hug right off the bat.

D.B. is in town this weekend and we managed to have both boys gone on the same night this time. Yum. ;) Now that we are "relaxed" for the moment we are going forth in the hood to find food and liquid to replenish.