Back. Again.

Hi all -

Long time no see! Pull up a chair and let's have a cup of coffee and a chat! :coffee3:

Quick update:

Grandson Bradley is doing well - will be 6 months old at Christmas time. How time flies! He is rolling over, grinning, laughing, babbling - all the fun stuff that babies do. The not so fun part is the severe acid reflux he has, which makes it very hard to keep clean clothing on him - on us - to keep the couch clean - the carpet clean...heck, even the dog is scared to come near him! (He got the dog once.) He's on 2 meds & a special formula, but it's not helping as much as it should. He goes back to the doc this week to see what the next step is. Hopefully NOT surgery.

DD22 is still living with me (Bradley's mommy). Still no job. Still not driving. However, she does try to keep the house clean (sometimes :bang and should have a job come January when a daycare opens up next door. They've pretty much guaranteed her a job (and free daycare for Bradley if she works there), but I'm not holding my breath on it. Hoping it comes through, though.

DS19 finally has a part time job - but still not driving. We're working on it. He has a major inability to save money, and if I don't take it from him and stash it somewhere, he blows it. He had over $350 saved towards a car, and blew it within a month of getting it into his hands. It's a constant struggle with him. He was just to the doc on Friday, and found out he will most likely need surgery on both of his shoulders to correct instability in the joints. His shoulders will pop right out of socket at the least provocation, and his job (bagging groceries & stocking shelves) is not helping. He had a large tv fall out of a wall-mount bracket at school last year and land on his shoulder, which made one of them a LOT worse by causing more damage, so even though it was a pre-existing problem, the school's insurance is paying for that one - we will have to take care of the other with our own insurance. (The TV was one of those big ones on a wall bracket and the teacher asked him to turn it so it could be seen better - when he did, it fell - the straps that are supposed to be around the TV to hold it onto the bracket were gone and it was just sitting on the bracket!)

DS13 is doing well, still living with his dad in VA, pulling in excellent grades. I'm proud of him - he seems to be on the right road to success, so far. It's hard to have him so far away, but with all that I have going on here, I have to admit that being there is probably better for him right now - he gets more one on one than I could give him. :weeping:

And me? Well, I'm just muddling along. Turned 40 a couple of months ago. blow: Decided it's time to do something about my weight and get healthy so I can be around for my kids and grandkids. Going to buy the Zumba dvd's, since the nearest class (run by a friend of mine) is 20 miles away, and I'm not real excited about bouncing and jiggling around in front of people anyway. :mdance: Going to start walking the dog morning and evening as well, and trying to eat healthier. This is my last-ditch effort before I decide to go under the knife for weight loss surgery - and I'm SO against that surgery that I'm determined to do this myself.

I'm working 2 jobs again (one full time and one at home part time), so that's keeping me busy, plus running the non-driving kids around until we can afford to have them driving (insurance costs are preventing it), and spending whatever time I can with my kids and grandson in between. The house is generally a wreck most of the time, but I'm tired of chewing my daughter out about it, and just deal with it as best I can, and clean up as much as possible on the weekends (speaking of which, there goes the laundry beeper again, another load done).

We're making a FAST trip to the U.P. to see my elderly uncle in a week or two, and sharing travel expenses with my parents. Going up at 3 a.m. on Saturday, back on Sunday. I'm driving their van, as their health and physical issues make riding in my minivan pretty much impossible. They're providing the vehicle and the gas, and paying for their own hotel room, all I have to do is drive, provide food for all of us and pay for my hotel room. Not a bad deal, makes it cheaper for all of us, and I'll be there to help them with their needs. Now I just have to convince myself to come back...I love it up there.

So that's my life in a nutshell...sorry to be gone so long, but I'll try to be here a little more! Missed you all terribly! Big hugs! :hug2::grouphug: