My mom is due out this week. It's kind of horrifying because there's so much wrong with my house and I feel more than a little nettled that she and dad seem to notice all that is wrong and little that is right.

Genny's kind of a twerp when her meds wear out. I think we need to do something to extend her meds past the 10 hours they seem to work, but I would rather deal with her being a pain in the ass than give her more meds. I love her energy and her kind heart, whether or not her meds work. The problem is that her bounciness drives Russell up a tree (that which we hate about ourselves...) and he in turn, bitches and so forth, which in turn makes me pin his ears back, which all kind of blows.

This weekend got away from us. Mike and I have been so tired and the kids are happy not to have to deal with us interrupting their computer and TV time, so we overslept both days, despite an alarm.

Today, we got out this afternoon. I made a run at the bread store and the mall. I got Mike's hair cut. When it's long enough for him to be considering the Prince Valiant hair style, it's time for a trim. Though, holy crap, I like him with that hair style. It makes me want to smooch on him and stuff. I walked in and kind of ticked off the stylist...made her cut it much shorter than he was going to do it. He's just unsure and when he got all done, he was happy.

I got the kids a few things for winter. I got both kids warm robes. I got Genny some jammies, a Christmas outfit, and a nice nightgown. I got both kids a couple of Halloween shirts. I got Mike some jeans on sale and I got a sweater poncho and a pretty blouse and bustier tank top thing. The blouse is supposed to go over the bustier thing, so you see the pretties, without being grossed out too much skin.

Russell was initially refusing to wear a robe and I finally just said that he had to. I said he shouldn't be wandering around in his underwear, that he'd be cold, and that if he had a problem with Genny doing that, that ultimately, it was problematic that he was doing it. He then brought up that Mike frequently puts on a robe and nothing else and isn't careful about what he flashes. He had a good point, so I brought it up to Mike with the kids present and said that both kids had mentioned his lack of underwear and pants under his robe and that he needed to knock it off. I said I'd be glad to purchase or sew him jammie bottoms. He was kind of embarrssed, but the kids were sitting in the back on the verge of cheering when he agreed he needed to knock it off.

I guess he doesn't think about it because he's a guy, who grew up with guys, but thank God, he's willing to address it. I think it's hard for him to comprehend that our kids aren't little any more and that seeing us naked at their ages is something that they're going to remember. I think all that whiteness is bad for their eyes anyhow. Mike could use a little modesty. I learned modesty a few years back, but he's really selectively modest. He locks the door to the bathroom to poop, but he chooses not to shut the door when I'm trying to dress, even if I ask him 20 times. Gah.

The wee hours are upon me. I'm going to sleep before I fall asleep in a pool of drool on my keyboard.

Ok, I'll grant you, I'm fully hormonal about to bleed my panties any second, but I've got a bone to pick.

The school district has taken to a "healthy eating policy" this year I think it's great, way past due, and of course, far too short of healthy.

However, I'm not thrilled with the implementation. LaDawn sent her one of her sons with a bag of chips for lunch one day as a treat. The school informed him that he could not eat it. What the hell is this, the freaking cafeteria police?

What really pisses me off, after reading all of this stuff (see page 8 of the document) is that for their stupid fundraiser, they're having kids sell frozen cookie dough. The only apparent redeeming quality of any of this (no whole grains or low sugar options) is that they have zero trans fat. What the hell? I don't think we could send these cookies baked to school with our kids as snacks, but we're supposed to buy the white flour, high sugar, but zero trans fat by the $14 three-pound vat!

God forfend that they'd actually have whole grain flour, sugar alternatives/reduced sugar, low-fat foods in the cafeteria, either. I bet you they use spaghetti sauce with sweetners added, and they don't bother to grind vegetables into it and serve it on whole wheat pasta! I can about guarantee you that they don't use whole grain tortillas for taco/burrito day and that the beans are loaded with fat. I bet they don't use splenda/sugar blends in pastries, either. I also bet they don't use ground turkey in lieu of high fat poor quality hamburger in their "casseroles" either.

I'm willing to bet any amount of money that the menu my children eat at home would make most nutritionists jump for joy compared to what schools serve and that my children are less likely to develop diabetes, heart disease, and other nutritionally controlled diseases on the food I serve them. I'm a diabetic with 145 cholesterol and well-balanced high and low cholesterol. Even my triglycerides are off normal by only 1 point. I cook one meal for everyone in my house, so my kids eat what I eat. They also love diet soda as a treat.

What ever happened to expensive, thick and beautiful gift wrap, some kind of healthy alternative, or the freaking PTA fundraiser we just pitched buttloads of money to? O having the PTA hold a Christmas craft fair thing for the kids to shop for their families?

I know Genny really really wants to get a "prize" for selling cookies, but I am of a mind to just send a damned check and take her to a few friends and neighbors to sell a vat or two to someone else.

I hate hypocrisy at schools. I know it's rampant, but it's still fucked up.

I love antibiotics when they work well.

I can breathe. I can think. I feel relatively human

Hey, I cooked tonight. I made homemade pesto from fresh basil in the pots out front, roasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese, olive oil, a little black pepper, and garlic. I think that's the surest sign I'm feeling better. I'm cooking and planning meals.

Tomorrow, I think I'd like to make barbecued chicken fajitas. I'll have to change up some of the veggies -- but it'll be tasty.

I am still blanketing. I had a few things to fix on Genny's purple sparkly butterfly blanky. The very expensive lace I special ordered is pretty crappy. There are several places where the lace didn't get sewn into the hem like it should have by the manufacturer, so I'm having to go back and repair those spots and it really ticks me off. And invariably those are the spots that made the lace curl, so that I ended up sewing those parts into the hem. Then I have to spend time with my glasses perched on my face and seeing if my arms can get longer, trying to find those itty bitty stitches to rip out.

It's all pinned and ready to roll.

And Mike and I were talking about my apparent weight loss. There's just less of my body protruding from the spots I loathe, and it's really awesome. It's just plain odd to be this excited about the prospect of going to the doctor's and getting weighed.

And my sugars have come down with the weight loss, which is the most awesome thing of all. I've been sitting on a weight cusp, where my sugars haven't been reacting as I expected. I realized tonight, that things are getting normal again. I don't want to slump into a nap after each meal, for starters.

Yay! Now, if I can just do something with the aquatard. ;p

Despite the fact that I have a cold to beat the band, that just happens to coincide with the blooming of sagebrush, my sugars have been a whole lot better. I'm thinking I may have to go on prednisone and I've already started antibiotics because there's an infection trying to burn into my chest.

So about a month ago, I got back all my labs and they were as expected. Though I'd been eating tighter than a parking space at Costco on a Saturday, my hba1c was creeping up...6.2 to be exact. We are chalking that up to lack of exercise. My meds were increased and it's been better. I've also continued to eat really carefully. I have sugar free everything and if I have a fit for something I shouldn't have, I take insulin beforehand and eat a small portion. I'm losing weight regardless, which is welcome news, of course. I'm not losing it brutally fast as I would, if I were exercising, but I've gotten into the $5 pair of jeans I bought at Walmart in August that I couldn't wear then. I'll take it!

My knee continues to be a sore arthritic pain in the leg. Last time I got a hair up my butt to clean the house like a fiend, I spent 2 days recovering from pain and exhaustion. That would have been a week ago when Russell entertained several friends for his birthday party. I spent the weekend crashed and trashed. I actually spent most of Saturday, napping with Mike. We were both exhausted and just cuddled on the bed and woke up at 5 kind of horrified and startled. With the house, clean the kids just played games and ignored us.

We are so tight financially. I'm maintaining the budget for a change and while I did have one stupid mistake, basically, we're in good stead at the moment. I called and played the pity card with bill collectors because I have the most god awful case of laryngitis ever and sound like I'm barfing up a cat coughing up a furball whenever I go to speak. Basically, I accidentally overpaid one of my medical bills and that threw our entire budget into chaos. I projected the budget until January and it's then, that things start to get dicy. I know that my parents will send us a pretty good-sized check at Christmas, so I'm going to use that and pay for my substitute license and fingerprinting. My hope is that I'll work at least a couple days in January and be able to make up that budget shortfall and even get us ahead.

Frankly, a lot of our budget depends on Mike's raise and on the profit sharing bonus due in November.

In the interim, there's a craft show in a few weeks that I will be sewing for. I'm going to make a mess of blankets and see what I can sell. Mike asked if it would be worth it. I told him, if I sold 2 blankets that it would be worth it. One would pay for my table and the other would give me cash in my pocket. I figure that I've already paid for the fabric and that as a result anything I got back on it at this point would be gravy. I figure I have little to lose by doing this, so I'm going to try it. I'm going to try throwing together a few baby baskets and see if those go, too.

I already made one baby blanket -- Classic Pooh for a PTA auction. I put it in a basket with a bottle of baby soap, some baby food jars, a pacifier and shirt clip(it was the only thing with Pooh that I could find that didn't cost a lot), a box of wipes, a cheap fleece receiving blanket, a bottle, and a set of inexpensive board books.

Just checking in. :)