Just a few days left with the kids home. This year was only the 2nd year (of the past 6) that lilbuckjr and his sister weren’t here to open presents on Christmas. (Remind me to tell you about the first – that’s for another post.) It never really feels like Christmas now without them here. As much as I LOVE waking up in the middle of the night to put out presents–always forgetting the cookies and having to make something up last minute–this year I missed doing that.
I mean, you only get so many Christmas mornings, right?
So we celebrated Christmas Day with my mom & sister’s family, and then celebrated again on Sunday when the kids were here. It was overwhelmingly meh, despite our best efforts to keep the kids cheery, which was disheartening. Twenty minutes of opening presents and that was that. Practically had to beg for a simple “Thank you.” I guess they are just at that age now (10 & 13).
In any case, now sister has been gone to a friend’s house for a couple of days; lilbuckjr is in-and-out playing with his friends; and the chef and I are back to work. I’ll admit, Monday when they were all home, I was totally overwhelmed. I get that way on short work weeks to begin with. Coupled with all the noise and commotion…. I was a wreck!
And now it’s almost that time. Back to school on Tuesday. Back to our regular schedule. I will admit that can’t complain about the freedom & quiet time during the week: confessions of a workaholic. AND we do have a great schedule with the kids since we see them every weekend & all summer long which is more than most joint custody arrangements get.
What’s dreaded the most about it is we go back to dealing with the not-so-fun stuff. You know what I mean.
Ok, so I should have written this post on Christmas, I know. I’m a slacker.
The COOLEST thing happened on Christmas… My Frankie Dogg took a few steps on his own! It was a great gift and it was all I wanted for Christmas and pretty much the only place I posted that was on my blog, so its the only way he could have known!
He seemed to be improving for a few days leading up to that point. When he gets going fast, you can see the left leg has lots of movement in the back and he’s trying to use it. Not so much for the right side yet.
When walking slow, the first few steps are the hardest part. His legs get tangled together and he falls down and then its pretty much over from there. If I hold him up, and he gets past tripping himself, he walks fairly well (just needs to build strength).
The hardest part is finding the time to walk him each day through all the hustle and bustle of the season.
So that’s it, there’s the post I promised. I wish I would have written it from all the excitement of the day!
Everyone is out shopping. Twitter is all abuzz about Black Friday. My step-kids are making their Christmas lists so I can get started with cyber shopping. Oh, and I scouted the Chef’s list in a drawer yesterday… YIKES! It’s time to hit the lotto.
Then, there’s me. hmpf. Of course, I won’t lie, I do want some things (how about an iphone, macbook or netbook, a new monitor, some decent office furniture, & the answer to The Meaning of Life).
But most of all, (and I’m not TRYING to be cheesy here, but I know I am, so go ahead and think it) I really want my Frankie Dogg’s legs to work. I am also aware that there are more important issues in the world that need attention and healing, so no need to call me out on being petty, please.
The past 2 months have been hard. And by hard, I mean stressful, guilt-ridden and self-sacrificing. There is the financial hardship, the time investment with appointments and home therapy, and the day-to-day activities that we used to take for granted which are now scheduled parts of the day (potty times, feeding times, etc).
Before this happened, I swore I would never give a pet this much medical attention. Before you jump all over me, I do have compassion for animals. I just viewed critical care of pets as excessive. After all, there are humans on this planet that don’t receive the kind of care that some pets do, and there is a serious overpopulation of pets on this planet. (Thank you, Bob Barker.)
Alright a long story short, then along came Frankie. One day he jumps off the bed, herniates a disk, and points-of-view change. Two months, dozens of doctors appointments and plenty o’ cash later–we couldn’t have done it without help from a dear friend Janet Jones-Romine–he is walking 100% on the underwater treadmill. But not on the ground.
I wonder to myself if he has given up. Is it my fault? Did I not do enough walking, exercising? I am lucky that I work from home, how do others do it? Should I have gotten a doggie nanny? How much would that cost? Is it worth it? And back to again, I wonder if he will ever walk again?
So if anyone asks what I want for Christmas, you know what the answer is. If I have been naughty this year (lol) and Santa doesn’t bring me what I want, we will deal with it. Like I’ve heard too many times over the past few months, “Have you seen those Dog Carts?” Yes. I have seen them. Yes. If he needs one I will get him one. Yes. Thank you for being helpful. Yes. I am grinding my teeth & smiling at the same time.
I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now, and I’ve finally come to a decision. And I’m starting a new section on this blog.
Most of you know, I’ve been a step-mom going on 4 years now. (Technically, 6 years if you count the Chef’s and my “courtship” time.) But who’s counting? It has been a roller-coaster-ride (#understatementoftheCENTURY) RIGHT out of the shoot.
I can’t help but think, “There must be other step-moms (and dad’s) who have been through similar experiences, and why the heck can’t we talk about this and support each other? In sharing over the years with my close friends & extended family, my parenting experiences are worth sharing both to divorced and happily married parents. We shall see.
Sometimes, I just need an outlet for my own sanity. Sometimes, I need support, feedback, advice. Sometimes I wanna know if I’m crazy or not. Sometimes, I want to help anyone I can who has been through the same thing.
I have no idea where this will go, how often I will feel compelled to share, what I should say/not say. But since my ‘online life is my REAL life’ as I say, its about time I got real and started sharing.
A 3 hour drive to a 4 hour football game is dedication. Especially when the plan is to turn around and drive home the same evening.
The Dallas Cowboys website has a great Map section, which configures from your zip code to your parking lot. So when I figured out our trip would take us up 35W to Fort Worth instead of through Dallas, I was happy. I’ve always hated that stretch coming up 35E into downtown Dallas. But of course, there’s a trade-off, right?
Texas Stadium was directly off the freeway. Drive. Exit. Park. Walk.
Not so much in Arlington. After you get off the freeway, you’ve got about another 15 minutes through a residential area.
The good news is – as you get closer to the stadium, much of the traffic is directed by police so you’re not left to navigate the streets with the thousands of other cars. We found the parking to be fairly easy. On the other hand, this was just a pre-season game, so many of the lots were empty… good luck on gameday.
We had about a 1/2 mile walk to the stadium from our parking. This is about the same as last year, upgraded to pavement from mud. Yes, at Texas Stadium, we walked through mud to get to our car. I really don’t mind. Trying to park your car close to walk a short distance on the way in doesn’t work the same way on the way out. :) Lesson: Park in the back, walk farther, leave first (maybe).
HOWEVER, as you will see in the pics, there is a very narrow bridge that you have to cross when walking. That is not going to be fun after the games, when people are drunk and all buzzed up. Especially if the Cowboys loose. That was a very bad idea.
The stadium speaks for itself. It is an awesome place. For everyone who’s asked about prices, they aren’t all that bad. In fact, they really didn’t change much from last year.
I have to say, as silly as it is, I expected all the bells and whistles. The fact that I still had to flush my own toilet, press the handle for water and pull my own paper towels seemed cheap. I’m sure Jerry Jones doesn’t have to do any of that.
But on a more serious note, I agree with those that have complained the score/stats are not perma-posted on the big jumbo-tron. I mean… you have to squint to the endzone to see it. Occasionally they put them up there, but for the most part, they aren’t. that just seems ridiculous.
Our view was pretty much the same as the seats we had last year. We were even 2 seats from the aisle. Yes, I know they are on the roof. Its not a priority for us financially to be any closer. The excitement and buzz of being at the game is enough. (But if anyone ever wants to give us Club seats for fun…we wouldn’t turn them down!)
I did appreciate the air conditioning and the sun protection the new stadium provided. It felt strange to be “inside” at a game…seems like an “outside” activity…what with the “grass” and all.
Besides the 2 different people sitting in the wrong seats in our row, the loud woman SCREETCHING in my ear, and the thousands of trips everyone on our row seemed to make in and out, over and over… we had a blast.
Oh, did I mention the connection stinks? @Zaneology reported (with AT&T) that she was completely without service. I dare say she was also closer to the stadium floor.
With my Tmobile, and my almost direction connection to God at our height, I was able to get intermittent service. But I spent more time fumbling with my phone than I did enjoying the game. I’m not complaining about that though, because I didn’t go to any games last year, so the last time I live tweeted a game was 2 years ago. I felt refreshed.
And we lost anyway. But who cares- its the preseason! We won the first half with the starters. The team is looking ok, and I’m hoping the next time I’ll see them at Cowboys Stadium is during the playoffs!
RT @PRsarahevans: I'm declaring this unofficial change your Twitter password day. Stop the spam. ;) #stopspam2009-11-02
"Let’s quit congratulating companies for adding Twitter to the list of tools they use for cust supp" http://bit.ly/3mmx82 (via @jackleblond) 2009-11-02
EXACTLY! RT @CouchSurfingOri: Wow- it's like today is national-twitter-phishing-awareness-day! 2009-11-02
That's it. No longer checking ANY DM notification. 2009-11-02
Everyone is out shopping. Twitter is all abuzz about 
