Construction, vision, old friends, cats in heat & parenting

The boys and I just returned from La Crosse. Because of construction, the trip took nearly 2 hours more each way than it should have. I am tired of driving!!! We went to La Crosse so TT could have a vision exam and be screened for a vision processing disorder. He came away with reading glasses and a line up of vision therapy appointments. It ends up his eyes process information in their own unique style, have poor stamina, and do not "team" effectively. We'll be driving up to La Crosse weekly for awhile. But if it helps, it is so worth it.

We were able to stay with some great friends, M & A, about an hour North. What a treat for the kids to play with their buddy (M & A's son) and to have a change of scenery. Our friends are so hospitable and it is always so great to see them. They're those rudder type people who seem to steadily go along while the currents of life ebb and flow. I appreciate their style, which is so unlike mine. Our hosts invited, T & B, some other former classmates over. They had just moved a few miles from where we were. What a great surprise! One of their kids had just celebrated his birthday and we were able to do an impromptu birthday party Wednesday night. Yay!

The funniest part of the whole experience was our friends' cat, Vivienne. She is always entertaining anyway (e.g., climbing into kitchen drawers through kitchen cabinets, sitting in baskets on the top of the fridge...). This time, she was in heat. Need I say more? It was an evening full of entertainment and yowling. I had to wonder what TT knew and understood when he said, "Vivi is saying, 'I need a boyfriend!!!!! Give me some babies!!!!!!!! I need a boyfriend!!!!!!'" I guess he heard us talking about how they're going to breed her next year...

The ride home, as I said before, was long. In addition to the construction drama, we only had one Gameboy (well...we thought we only had one until we got home and found the other under a seat!!! Aaarrgh) and both kids wanted to play it. TT had decided very intentionally not to bring his Gameboy. But...then he changed his mind and could not understand why this was not anybody else's fault or problem. Needless to say, for my own sake and for the sake of my sanity, I ended up buying off CH with a new game if he'd let his brother play Gameboy on the way home. TT, of course, needed a game to play and I ended up buying him one too. I can't believe I just spent over $60 on Gameboy games!!! I told C about the whole mess when he got home and he completely understood. Thank you, Jesus! John Rosemond, if you don't like what went down, tough beans! It works for us! (If you don't know who Rosemond is, consider yourself lucky. Yep, that's him in the pic). Our local newspaper blesses us with his column each Sunday, and he gives what I consider to be among the worst parenting advice in print. Scary "traditional parenting" kind of stuff that makes me wonder: (a) if he ever raised his own children - really raised them and was there and engaged and not just a "wait 'til your father gets home" kind of Dad, (b) if he does have children, if his children have any use for him today, and (c) what he would do with a special needs child on a 24/7 basis (I feel empathy for the kid just thinking about this). When I searched google for a pic, I discovered he's got a book called "Parenting by THE BOOK" (caps are not mine) - sounds like some seemingly "Evangelical Christian" stuff. For all I know, he and Dobson are in cahoots. Run away, parents, run away!!!! [Bring on the comments, readers! If my experience is anything like Shana's, I'm sure I'll tick off some stranger for this.]

I suppose if I'm wasting my time ranting on about this guy, it's time to sign off.

Signed,
Proud to be a trust-my-gut Mom