True Story Tuesday

Do you remember last week how I told you about the time I fell on the playground? This week I thought I would tell you about a few of my other fall adventures.
When I was four I went to pre-school at a catholic church. The boys always climbed a fence and were always told not to. Well I was not going to be outdone by a stinky old boy. So I climbed the fence. But guess what? I fell on the top of the fence. So what do you think, did I cry like a girl? Nope, I kept my mouth shut. I got on my little school van and went home. As soon as the van pulled away I showed my mom. I needed a few stitches for that one. I still have a little scar on the inside of my arm to remind me of that day.
When we lived in Germany I bought a beautiful shelf. A shelf that was hard to get up my staircase. I had help by my landlord who only spoke English. Half way up the stairs something happened and it got dropped on the front of my leg ripping the skin off. Finally we made it up the stairs and into the apartment. Later that evening I was re arranging furniture. The piece I needed to move was a big cabinet with our fish tank on top. I started trying to move it but it would not budge so I turned around and thought okay I can move it with my back. The only problem was…. You guessed it I slipped and ripped all the skin off my backbone. At that point I just collapsed onto the ground in sobs. I was tired of being hurt, I was tired of my husband not being home and honestly I was just tired. Within a few seconds my precious baby boy (now over 6 foot tall) walked over (shirtless) and pulled what little skin his skinny chest had for me to use as a tissue to wipe my tears. I love my son.
So fast forward to 2009. My husband was gone (doesn’t it seem like he is always gone). I got the kids in bed and was just about to go to bed. I started getting dressed when I realized my toilet was overflowing. I took off running through the house (pant less) to the hallway bathroom where we kept the plunger. It was not there, so I ran into my son’s bathroom. There was my first mistake running. As soon as I hit the tile in his bathroom I hit water and fell in the doorway. I remember the back of my head hitting the counter and my legs and knees knocking everything it could. Is this where I tell you somehow he had a good inch of water in his floor. Every time I tried to get up I would fall again and feel something else hurting. He had a jack and Jill bathroom. Which means that it was between his room and the girl’s room? I screamed for my son to help me. No response. He honestly was not 6 feet from me. I screamed again and again and again. It finally dawned on me that I could just drag myself to the carpet in his room. I finally made it into the living room. I spent the rest of the night in my chair. I just knew I could not go to sleep and it hurt to bad to get up and go get pain meds.
I am the queen of falling. I fell a few months ago trying to put my crock pot away. Breaking my precious crock pot.
Do you fall? If you fall do you tell anyone?
Pamela
Oh I just thought about another fall. in 2008 I fell in my kitchen on some water. I iced my knee for weeks. I found out a year later that I actually tore something when I fell and had to have surgery. Again, I did not tell anyone I fell that time because of course my husband was GONE.

True Story Tuesday

Good morning ladies (maybe gentlemen, let me know). I know last week I told you about some of my school experiences and promised to tell you about more this week.
Do you remember last week telling you about the teacher who sold me mountain dew out of his classroom? Well he was my history teacher. A amazing teacher. He had his own style that when he talked you listened. One thing he hated was the intercom system. I remember him throwing something at the intercom system one time. He was cool like that.
What you may not know about me is that when I was in middle school and high school I babysat at least 20 hours a week. This is how I paid for things like school clothes and extras. I took it very seriously and took my money very seriously, so one day we were setting in class and the teacher got called out of class for something. A minute or so later he walked back in. not a big deal. Except he noticed he that someone had opened a window. He was livid that someone would touch the window. So he started screaming and asking who opened the window. No one would admit it; honestly to this day I had no clue who opened it. What I did know is that the lady I babysat for would be picking me up the moment I got out of school. So he told us that we would not be leaving school until the person admitted opening the window. I was growing madder by the minute because I had to leave, I had a job. A serious job that my friends would not understand. This went on for several minutes. I lost it. I stood up and said “look this is not a big deal to most of you, but to me I have a job and do not have time for this. Just say you opened the stupid window”. Or at least I said something close to that. I think it shocked him. He looked at me and said something encouraging and then told me I could leave. I left and I am sure he let everyone leave or maybe he did not because they were all there when I returned the next day.
Are you tired of my school stories? I have a couple of more to talk about next week and then I promise to move on.
Pamela

True Story Tuesday

I have a couple of stories to tell you today. Stories that will explain some of my schooling issues.
In elementary school, fifth grade exactly. I had a substitute teacher and I did not like her. I wanted my teacher back. I sat in the back of the class. One day she said the wrong thing to me and I threw a book at her and it missed her and hit a boy in the head. My teacher (Mrs. Vanoderham, she made us learn to spell her name) sent me to the principal’s office. My mom was always volunteering at the school so the principle sent me to my mom. My mom was busy doing something so she sent me back to the principle who sent me back to class. WOO got away with that one.
Then in high school I had a amazing boyfriend (now husband). I had a boyfriend who had never been in trouble in school. He was amazing boy. Honestly I was not someone who normally got in trouble either. I may have not had great grades but I did not get in trouble. So one day my boyfriend and I had our first argument. Young love does crazy things to the brain. So after we made up we began kissing in the hallway and a teacher saw us. In our school that was grounds for suspension. So we head to the principal’s office. I was worried for my boyfriend. I honestly did not think my mom would mind. The principle reminded us that his was not okay. Then reminded us that Friday was a football game (guess who played football). Then sent us back to class. WOO got out of that one.
Next week I will tell you two more stories about my middle school issues.
A homeschool mom,
Pamela
Want to hear some other True stories, head over to Once upon a Miracle

True Story Tuesday

I almost did not share this story because it makes me look like a terrible mom. So let me start by saying I love my son and have kissed many a million boo boo’s and still today give him a million hugs a day. Only instead of him laying his head on my shoulder I lay my head on his. That is a perk of having a 6 foot 2 son. But since I promised I would tell this story last week I thought I better tell you.
Okay, last week I told you about when he broke his foot. This week I want to tell you about when he broke his arm. We were at a Science museum. One we had been at a million times before. I was chit chatting with a friend and could see my kids when Michael came running to me screaming “Faith broke my arm, Faith broke my arm”. He was waving his arm around and screaming. He was so loud that employees came over. We set down in the café area and were feeling out accident reports. I was sure his arm was not broken. He was setting in this HUGE magnet chair. You set and have someone push you. His sister was pushing him when somehow she hit his palm very hard. I really thought he was mad at his sister more than in pain. Again he was waving his arm around. About 5 minutes later a friend came in and asked what happened. I told her and said I think he just needs ice but we are going home. He told her his arm was broken and his sister did it. She took one look at him, not his arm and said “Pam, do you see the sweat on his face”. Of course I did but he was so mad at his sister. She said that means he was in pain. He had yet to say he was in pain. I quickly decided he needed to go to the hospital. I was driving my husband’s truck which is large and I am not use to driving. My husband was deployed and I occasionally drive his truck to keep it working. So I jump in the truck and off we go. Only I am confused as to how to get to the hospital. So of course we took the longest possible way there. I felt terrible for taking so long.
I will admit it was hard not to laugh at him on the way to the hospital. The entire way there he was screaming (I swear it did not sound like pain or I would have been in tears). He was screaming, Faith broke my arm, I cannot believe she broke my arm. Then he would say “Dear God, please help me and do not let my arm be broken.
We arrived at the hospital fifteen LONG minutes later. I signed in and sat down. Then decided he needed new ice. So I asked for ice and about 2 minutes later a nurse walked out with ice. She asked to look at his arm. When he unwrapped it you could see the lump on his arm. She said “Yep, it is broken” and took us right back. It was indeed broken. I felt so bad. He was in a cast for 8 weeks and was okay.
For the second time in a row I won the Mother of the year award.
Can I take a minute and tell you that this child is my joy. I love him so much and would never dream of letting him be in pain. I am the first one to admit when my children get hurt and take them to the doctor. Why in these cases I did not rush to do so is beyond me.
I cannot wait to read more of your True Stories this week.
Pamela

True Story Tuesday

Some days a mommy makes a mistake and in my case I have made 2 of them. Okay, maybe a million of them but two major ones. When my son was 2 we lived in Germany. Germany does not have the same safety laws about playground equipment (this is not a fact just something I was told and never researched). So one day we were at McDonald’s playing. They had a little play area. My son could climb up the stairs and then would go down the slide into a ball pit. He must have done this a million times (maybe ten times) before he realized that it would be easier to jump off the slide. Thinking he was a boy and there was no one else around I let him do it. Then he jumped off and instantly screamed. You see instead of a ball pit it was more of a covered floor with only a couple of layers of balls. He took one step and cried. My husband jumped and said he broke his foot. The great mom that I am said “no he is fine”. Again my husband said his foot is broken and I said he is fine. He took another step and collapsed. I instantly picked him up and my husband said it was broken again and off we went to the hospital. Guess what? It was broken. They put a soft cast on it and we headed home. But the story is not over. My son had sensory issues. So from the moment we got into the car until well after midnight, he screamed and cried and used anything he could to get the cast off. Finally after midnight I called our local pediatrician at home. I knew his wife from PWOC. He was not upset and said TAKE IT OFF, and tell him that if he stands on it you will put it back on. So we started to take it off and before it was all the way off he was asleep. For the next three days he crawled around but did not stand. We took him to get his cast on and thought he did okay. That was until they left him alone for a second and he tried to rip it off so they had to put a second one on because as soon as they were done he ripped it off before it could dry. Six weeks later we took him in to have it taken off. We went to our local doctor which was on a very small office. They let someone who has never taken one off take it off. No stress it is not like the thing can cut you RIGHT? So she starts taking it off and he is giggling. But every time she would get near his ankle bone he would scream in pain. We all looked at each other not understanding. The doctor assured us that it could not cut him. So she gets it almost completely off except right by his ankle bone. So she does the final cut on his ankle and BLOOD SHOOTS ACROSS THE ROOM. Apparently he had gotten sand in his cast and it cause a yucky bed sore that ripped open. It was infected and needed stitched. But because it was infected they could not close it up. A week later it was healing. I thought we were almost done with this. That was until I got the call. He had stepped on something at daycare and had a HUGE splinter in his foot. So my husband had to take him back to the DR to get it taken out. Remember child with sensory issues. When I walked in he was strapped down in a white thing that looks like something out of a syco movie. I lost it and demand they stop and I unstrapped him, picked him up and loved him and held him tightly while they got it out. We moved on and he was great.
Please let me explain that the hospital was completely right in there actions, he was going crazy and if that splinter would have moved they would have had to cut it out. My mommy heart was just not okay with it.
If you like this story, stick around because next week I will talk about the time he broke his arm and I said he didn’t.
Pamela

True Story Tuesday

If you have read my blog for long you know that I have a fear of the dentist. I mean like I cry and shake sometimes and it is silly. I realized this week that life has encouraged this. First my dentist growing up would ball me out about the shape of my teeth. I remember one day after getting my teeth cleaned my mom and I were walking down a street and she wrapped her arm around my neck. I instantly started screaming like a crazy child. People stopped and starred. A bee had landed on her arm and when she put her arm on my neck it stung me.
A couple of years ago I was in the chair getting my teeth cleaned when my phone kept ringing. The hygienist finally insisted I answered it. It was my sitter saying that a piece of FOUR foot long rebar had come flying through the office window, almost hitting my sons head. The landscaping men were across the street and did not have guards on their machines. My son was fine but we found glass forever. I felt horrible for my sitter. I had no idea how big it was or how big of a deal it was until I got home.
Do you think this could explain why the last time I went to the dentist I was so stressed I had to call my husband and ask how to get there?
Pamela

True Story Tuesday

Today I thought I would tell you a couple of quick stories. Stories of my encounters with the police, not that there are many. The first was about 18 years ago. I had moved out on my own and bought my first car. I was driving to work one day when I saw the red lights. I pulled off the side of the road and was a nervous wreck. I could not think what I had done wrong. As the policeman got out of the car I realized that my tags were expired and my new tags were in my back seat. So I turn around to reach for the tags when I heard “STOP”. Instantly I knew what a stupid move that was. He had no idea what I was reaching for. As he walked up to my door he looked in the back seat and said “mam, please have someone help you put those on today. I felt so stupid.
Several years later and four kids later I was leaving post and thought I was out of housing when I saw the lights again behind me. I honestly do not know who it was; he is not a city policeman and definitely not military police. Anyways, he pulled me over and walked up to the window and started fussing at me for speeding. I was going 30 in a 25. I explained that I was no longer in housing. He said that it technically was housing for another half a block. As he walks back to his car my daughter asked me if I was going to jail. My response was “no, he is just a rent a cop”. I instantly felt bad and apologized to my kids for not respecting authority. I was lucky the man did not hear me.
I really do respect police even if I do not agree with them.
Pamela

True Story Tuesday

Could things have gone wrong in any other way? This weekend my best friend came to visit. Okay that seems very normal and nothing to write about. Well did I tell you she is a very conservative Mennonite? It was a wonderful weekend full of funny things. Like my girls wanting to only wear homemade clothes to look like her. One my daughters apologizing for us not cleaning up before she came. One daughter asking if she had seen anyone use a horse and buggy in “her world”. All weekend I heard my girls ask her questions about “her world”. But I think the funniest thing was Sunday morning. She went to church with us. First my husband pulled out his cell phone and started playing Farmville , he said it was okay because church had not started yet. He has never done this before and will probably never do this again. Then two female soldiers walked in. She said she knew that there were female soldiers but seeing them makes it real. So church starts and we sing and the pastor starts preaching. Then his cell phone rings. He was really preaching when it rang. Then he answered it and said it was his wife reminding him to remind the men about Valentine’s Day. I was in awe and I know she was. Later in the service he explained how things distract us. It was a total planned thing. At the end of the service another pastor prayed. It went something like this: dear heavenly father thank you for this day, thank you letting us learn about submitting to the holy spirit…..please remind us that we should submit to the holy spirit just as “husbands should submit to their wives”…..
I turned to her and said WAIT he did not mean that, he said it backwards. It was too funny. If any of these things had happened on their own it would not have been a big deal but the fact that it all happened in an hour was comical. I will have to wait and tell you how the man at the airport tried to convince her to give him a tip (for carrying her bags) by saying something like you know you help me and I will help you. When she said she did not know what he was talking about he said, well what you would do for your waiter at a restraint.
It was an amazing weekend and I cannot wait to tell you more.

True Story Tuesday

This is a totally true story. I love my husband and he is amazing man but I have to be honest and say when we got married the first thing on my mind was I WANT BABIES. So right after we got married I went to my OB for my yearly. We are talking about what to do to get pregnant. Well I knew the basics but I wanted it to happen like NOW and it was not. So while I was on the torcher table with all exposed the craziest thing happen. Let me first tell you that my new husband was in the waiting room when he heard me scream. Why would I scream you may be thinking? Because while the doctor was down there doing his thing he peeks over the little curtain and says “Do you know you have warts”. I think they heard me on the next block. I did not know rather to jump up and run out of the office naked from embarrassment or deck my husband. Before I could do anything the doctor looks at me and says “what is wrong?” I said what do you mean what is wrong, you said I have warts. That is when he looks over that little curtain thing again and says “on your knee, you have 2 warts on your knee”.
In case you need a reminder that is not the thing to say to a woman who is in that position.
Pamela

True Story Tuesday

I have told you the story of how my hero and I got together. One of the first things we did was go to Ocean City. We walked the board walk and stopped for fries. It was funny because we asked if they had ketchup and they almost laughed at us. Did you know that some people actually do not eat ketchup with French fries? I do not know how that is possible.
On another date (many years before that) my hero took me to play miniature golf. I had never been. When we got there they were full so he said let’s hit a bucket of balls. So he taught me how to hit the balls. Then we went to play miniature golf. I asked him if I played the same way and he said yes. So I step up to the little ball and WHACK!!!
As the ball flies through the air over the fence and pings off a car he asks me why I hit the ball so hard. I said because you said I should hit it the same way.
We have had many more fun dates. Like a couple of years ago when we had a sword fight in the middle of an amusement park.
Pamela
***It is not too late to enter the Purex Crystal give away here.

True Story Tuesday

There once was a little girl with red curly hair and more freckles than could be counted. She did not have pretty clothes and was not doing great in school. Her self confidence was low. That was until one day she would be given a Big Sister. But not only was she given a sister but a second family. A family who loved her for who she was. A big sister who loved her and worked for hours on her handwriting with her. Who spent her spare time with this little red headed girl. And when this big sister had to move away she did not leave that little red headed, freckled face girl alone. She arranged for her sister to become her big sister. This big sister taught her how to care for her nails and make rice crispy treats and how awesome being a teacher was. This family included her in their holiday traditions and made her feel very special. They changed her really. They taught her what being part of a family was like. They never looked down on her but made her feel like part of the family.
That little red headed girl was me and while I still have the red hair and more freckles to count I am more confident because I had a big sister to show me love and compassion and be there for me in a time that I thought no one had the time for me.
I cannot tell you how much having a big sister affected my life. If you have spare time I would encourage you to look into getting a little brother or sister. It does not take very much time every week and can be done without spending a ton of money. There are lots of options to do without spending money. You could teach them to cook, work on homework with them or just taking a walk to discuss their day.

True Story Tuesday

I am not feeling the urge to write but I do have a couple of cute short stories about animals. We have kittens (want one) and I am trying hard to potty train. So one day last week I saw a kitten go behind the chair. I quickly picked up the cat and went running for the litter box. I felt my leg getting wet. I looked down and that little cat was urinating like a boy, it was spraying every where. I wish I would have had a camera going. My mom was visiting and saw the whole thing, I could not stop laughing at her laughing.
Ok, second story. My seven year old claims that she is the dogs mom. He sleeps with her and listens to her. He always sleeps at the end of her bed. Yesturday she was not feeling well and had a low grade fever. I walked into my room and instead of sleeping at the foot of the bed he was laying up against her. For several hours I would roll over and check on her to make sure she was not too hot. At some point I felt the dog move so I reached over and felt her and she was cool. He had stayed with her until her fever broke. It was the sweatest thing ever.