Jealous

Yes, I am jealous of my husband. Just booked his flight back home. He gets to leave this madness tomorrow. Help!!! Take me with you!!! Take me anywhere but here...

Rumors

Just to let anyone know, if you are going to talk about people and spread rumors can you at least get the facts straight. Or at least one of the facts right. It's interesting how people I haven't spoken to in years seem to know so much about me and my family's lives. Yet they are 100% wrong. Not one factual statement...Ever heard of the motto,"if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." I think these people just like to hear themselves talk.

Using Children

My son is a very naive, innocent and trusting 9 year old. Why do people see the need to pump him for information. I walk by the room and hear his grandmother asking all kinds of questions about us and our lives, my husband's family, our friends, etc. He is so trusting he just talks away. Then we hear about it later. Why do people do that. If you want to know something ask me. I'll probably tell you it's none of your business; hmm, guess that's why they ask an innocent 9 year old. Drives me crazy...Any thoughts on how to put a stop to it.

Adapting or Not

We have been staying with my parents for 4 days now. Rumor has it they have a cat named Lilah. I have yet to see her. It is because of Lilah that my pets are banished. I have two cats who are 13 years old, totally indoors, declawed and "people" oriented. They both take a nap with my daughter and follow her around the house. Now, my parents didn't want Lilah upset about the visiting kitties so my cats are banished to the patio room and back yard. Back yard!!! These cats haven't been outside a day in their life in the 13 years we've owned them. One cat is so lonely she tries to follow anyone around who happens to go outside. The other cat is hiding in a cabinet. This patio room is not very big. It is long, but narrow and is also used as a storage room. My husband and I had to get away and so spent the day together (with the kids, of course). Got home to the news that the one cat went next door and the two dogs had him trapped. The neighbor's dogs hate cats. Great, let's let two old, declawed cats loose. One of the next door dogs even came under the fence and got into my parents yard. Do I see trouble on the horizon...oh yeah! The sad thing is our dog can't do anything to protect the cats. Lady likes the cats and they get along great, hence the lack of fear in the cats around dogs. You see, our dog has been banished to the side yard. Not the garage, not the back yard...the narrow walkway of a side yard. All concrete and garbage cans. When she is not in the side yard she has to be in her crate in the upstairs bedroom. She can't be in the backyard because, according to my father, she could "pee" and burn his grass. She can't be in the house because their invisible cat, Lilah, is terrified of dogs. I feel so bad for these pets. You look into their eyes and all your see is confusion. They are used to being with us 24/7 and now are banished. Our two-year old is just as confused. She is having a hard time going to sleep without her kitties. I am hoping our "vacation" will be cut short. We can see trouble on the horizon and are worrying about how our son will take it if something happens to one or both of the cats. They are too old to have to worry about running for their lives. They should be able to live out the rest of their lives in comfort; they've earned it. What's ironic is the invisible cat used to be wild. She can take care of herself outside, mine can't. Or at least let the dog out to protect his sisters...

Priorities

Why is it that people place more emphasis on "things" rather than people. As I write this my two year old daughter is sleeping (after 2 hours of fighting it), but she is sweating profusely. Her hair is all wet, her face is damp...and she is just wearing a t-shirt. The reason is her grandparents refuse to turn on the air conditioning. They live the majority of their day in their master bedroom. In there, they have a heater, a/c, microwave, etc. So there is no need to heat and/or cool the rest of the house. We are dying here. Nope, the temperature has to stay at a certain level or they pay more in utilities. It's midnight and my son is still awake because he is hot too. You are also not allowed to use any electricity from noon to 6:00 pm. Yes, I was told that as I was waiting for clothes to come out of the dryer. They are on a special plan to reduce costs. Nothing can be run during those hours. Great!!! Yesterday, my husband set up the slip n' slide for the kids to play in the backyard. It was hot... Their grandfather was indignant because it could burn the grass. He didn't want it set up. My husband put it up not knowing it would become a major issue. They didn't play long, let's put it that way. We also brought a small pool, guess they won't be using that either. Grass is a thing. Let the kids be kids. What else are they going to do...stay in a hot house staring at the walls because they can't watch tv or play video games. It's too hot to play outside. Yeah, it starts to cool down in the evening, but hey, that's when you can turn stuff on again...except the air conditioning...

Siliac

Siliac is a very food limiting disease. My mother developed this about two years ago. Apparently it is something you are born with, but it remains dormant until something triggers it. People with siliac cannot eat anything with gluten. My mother cannot have anything with flour, wheat, oats, barley, rye and stuff like that. She can't even drink regular beer. It is amazing what food products have gluten in them, even soy sauce. She has to read all food labels. I made pizza tonight and had to be creative for her. Made her pizza on tortilla shells. Just think of all the foods you are no longer able to eat-cakes, cookies, bread, pizza. She had been extremely thin from this disease, but now her body hoards whatever she eats. She eats lots of salads (minus the croutons). She is so sensitive that she brought her own bread to a restaurant, but the crumbs from the other breads got on it and she got sick. She ordered rice noodles at a restaurant but it's cooked in the same water as other stuff, so she can't eat there any more. Very restrictive diet. And the sad thing is - it's genetic. Great. The things I can look forward to. Not a bright future for someone who loves to bake. I have my own health issues and have to be careful of what I eat, let's just add that in. There's many a day I live on saltines when my ulcer flares up. No flour products...oh dear.

Regression and Guilt

And so it begins...We are visiting my parents, with my husband leaving in two days (and yes, he is counting). When we brought stuff in, the changes they made to their house made us very suspicious. Kind of like they were expecting our visit to be more long, long term than what it is. Sure enough, it was brought up today. About missing the kids, keeping family together, helping each other out, etc. Maybe we could live here with them indefinitely. It would mean so much to them to be with their grandkids. Why do I have the feeling this is going to be a long summer?

And why is it that I, a perfectly normal adult seem to regress when I am around them. Years of conditioning I guess. Hate to make waves, easier to give in, who knows. Today I ended up making pizza for the whole group. Tomorrow they are having company and I am catering it. Enchiladas for 12. I really have no idea how it happened. Although the fact that I hate my mother's cooking may have something to do with it. (She is also on a special diet for her health and so she eats some bizarre things). The deal starts with "if you cook, I'll clean the kitchen". Yeah, right...she wanders off and plays with the grandkids. Trust me I've walked away but the dishes don't budge...for days. It finally drives me crazy enough to just do them. Can't deal with dishes piled up. It's easier to just get them over with. So I've reverted back to the cooking and cleaning person again. I told them after Saturday I'm not cooking any more. I eat very little and there's no reason for me to cook. At least I put them on notice. If I live on salad I get the benefits of no cooking, no cleaning and hey, maybe I'll lose some weight. Maybe eating healthier will help my backbone get stronger. I made a start tonight, let's hope it continues.