Excuse My Absenteeism!!

Geez, I feel like I have been gone like forever on here! So much has been going on with me, very sorry I have not been able to keep up on everyone's blogs! Many things going on in my life, first my hubby's grandmother passed away....she was 87 yrs old and was suffering from Dementia! Well her insides finally just shut down from lack of moving around and she gave up after just a few days.....it sort of was a blessing because of all the pain she was in...thank goodness it was not for long!

With me, I have been suffering from depression for some time now....at least the last two and half years or so! I finally realized I am not going to get better on my own and need some intervention......went to see my doc and she has prescribed for me Wellbutrin.....lowest dosage to see if that can help....I am also starting to see a Behavioral Science doc on a regular basis to try and work through my issues! She thinks I have several things going on....caregiver stress syndrome....in taking care of and working with my daughter Brianna who has special needs....language delay...sensory issues....and fine motor skill delays! Also of course I am suffering from depression and she feels that I am full of anxiety with just life and the unknown of the future when it comes to Brianna....which unfortunately consumes me almost everyday....I am letting this take me over and don't know how to stop it...hopefully the doc will be able to help me work my way through the fog!

On a positive note....I joined a gym this week.....unfortunately just as I did that Aunt Flo decided to visit....so I will be starting next week...and they offer a Yoga class on Sunday mornings that I will be attending....I think the breathing relaxation exercises and meditation will do my body and mind good....if only I could conquer this sleep problem...getting to sleep is fine.....it's staying asleep that is the problem, hopefully the gym stuff will help!

So I will do my best to get caught up with what's going on in everyone else's world and sorry for rambling on here......but I do think along with everything else this blog will also help my sanity!!!

Flashback Friday

We don't get any snow in my part of California....but these last two years have gotten pretty nippy that we have been seeing snow on the hills....just don't make it down to us here in the Canyon!

I'm originally from Illinois and I do have very fond memories of the snow.....lots of snowball fights....making a snowman and my favorite memory of all......making snow angels! Just beware of the "yellow snow".....LOL!

Winter to me means.....whether you get to enjoy the magic of snow or not....get out as much as possible (weather permitting) and enjoy the season.....do what activities you can with your family and capture as many memories as possible especially when they are little ones cause we all know just how fast they grow up!

Here is a picture of Brianna from last winter.....no snow but it sure was pretty darn cold out that day.....and after she had been out there after about a half hour she ended up with a little cherry nose and rosy cheeks.....but she just insisted on going out and playing on her swing set.

ScrapGirl Challenge

I was totally up to ScrapGirl's challenge......now I know I'm not gonna win any challenges or awards for my design, but it's my own design and I enjoy how it turned out.....I just wanted to take on this challenge and do something about myself.....I didn't use any digital kits online....I just used my own software from Scrapbook Factory Deluxe 4.0

I was given this software by my hubby last year for Mother's Day....it was the best gift ever he could have given me.....this definitely was a fun project....I mean how many times do you get to hog the spotlight for yourself...LOL!!

January 19th>> I Heart Faces>> Kids

This is my first entry into I Heart Faces for kids, I just love looking at all the beautiful photos on their website. I'm just an amateur photographer but I just love taking pictures of my kids, I chose this one because I just love my daughter's eyes and their beauty shows off well in closeups.

Don't Ya Just Love Teens!!

Okay.....now I don't ask too much of my teenage daughter......she has to do the dishes, clean up her room, vaccuum once in awhile.....but when you ask them to do something....isn't it normal to expect things to be at least somewhat clean looking.

She does the dishes today.......I just went to put the dishes away now that they are dry....and I am looking at glasses with food dried on them....knives with dried peanut butter still on them....spoons with I don't know what on them!

This is an almost every time she does dishes occurrence.......I have pointed this out to her at least a dozen times......now I just go make her re-do the dishes.....then I get this look like I'm just totally ridiculous that she has to do them over......and I just love the attitude that comes along with the look!!

I think girls are way worse than boys.....my son does them and I never have to ask him to re-do them.....they are pretty darn clean.....now am I wrong or shouldn't it be the other way around....LOL!

I guess if you want something done right you have to do it yourself......Oh and don't even get me started on her room....sometimes I open the door to go put something away of hers that she left out for the dozenth time.....and I could swear there is this odd odor emanating from her room.....I have searched and cannot find the source for the smell......guess it's just one of those mysteries that never get solved.

For anyone of you out there that have teens I am sure you know exactly what I'm talking about....for those of you who don't have any old enough yet.....it's a whole new world of child rearing that you wouldn't even imagine.....I wish there was some sort of class that we could take to prepare! It's seems to always be something or another and everything is so gosh darn dramatic!!

Thanks for listening to my rantings!

Pet Woes

So this is Ozzy.....he's is a maltese......I love him dearly, I purchased him back in 2002 and had him flown all the way from Tennessee! At that time I did not have my youngest Brianna and wasn't even thinking about having another child at the time. So Ozzy was my baby, I cuddled with him and just ate him up. He has been with me since he was 9 weeks old and is a part of our family, here lies my dilemma.

Now since I have had Brianna (whom takes up so much of my time since the day she was born) Ozzy has had to take a backseat in my attention and my heart which I think was very hard for him at first. As of the last six months or so, he has become very aggressive when it comes to Brianna, meaning when she goes to pet him and such, he acts very odd and sometimes even goes to try and nip at her. His behavior is progressively getting worse and now is acting odd with others.....meaning my hubby.....who went to push him down the other day from his chair and Ozzy tried to bite him.

He seems to be getting worse in behavior the older he gets.....and as Brianna gets older and has friends over I am fearful of how he will be with children....clearly he has issues with small children and having them near him or touching him. I cannot tolerate this kind of behavior from a family pet, and I am fearing that if he continues to get worse that I will have to try and find a home for him with someone who does not have children.

So you can see my woeful dilemma, the thought of having to give him up breaks my heart, however, my daughters needs must come first and she is already fearful of other peoples dogs. I don't want her fears reinforced by her own dog. I am hoping that this day will never come, oh my, where is the Dog Whisperer when you need him. Unfortunately I could not afford his services even if I could get him here.

Just a Little background to Start me Off.......

I'm 39 years old, married to my second hubby going on 9 years. I have three wonderful children (these are my kids in photo) my oldest son Joshua, 17 is from my previous marriage. My second is my step-daughter Abbey, 13 whom I love dearly as if she were my own. Last but definetly not least, Brianna, 3 almost 4 years old, she is the child we have together.....My children are intelligent, loving and are my heart, Brianna is our special little girl......she has some developmental issues which I will be discussing in future blogs I am sure of.....she started out the first two years of her life just like you would expect.....it was this last summer that I noticed she was not developing further along like regular milestones that a child her age should be.

This in itself has put me on a path that I was not expecting to travel and I am having my own issues just dealing with it all everyday.....I work part time in the mornings as a bookkeeper while my little Brianna attends her preschool program......she is currently enrolled in the program that the State offers for children with special needs. We have already noticed an improvement in her development since she was enrolled this last Fall.

I am looking forward to doing this blog thing.......I think it is just the outlet I need to get out all these thoughts I have rolling around in my head and to share all the good and bad things that come along with my family and life. Bear with me while I am new at this stuff......and I am sure sometimes my words may not always make sense or I may just ramble at times. I am looking forward also to getting to know other bloggers and hearing their thoughts and everyday topics.

Thank you all for listening and or reading......hope you all have a great day! :)