Always Such a Busy Bee!

I don't know why I always feel like I'm so busy in life. I always mean to read other peoples' blogs and post updates to mine, but somehow, just never get around to doing it. I think there is just so much activity in our house right now that I don't have the "quiet time" I need to be able to sit and concentrate on my blog. Plus, it takes time to post pictures (as well as semi-intelligent comments), and time seems to be the one commodity I'm always short on. In any event, I'm sorry I've been so lax lately, and ask for your patience as I try to find the time to post regularly.

I don't have any pics to post right now. I'm sneaking in this update while at work. Nine times out of ten, it's more quiet and peaceful here than it is at home! LOL That's how life is when you have 4 adults and one baby living under the same roof.  :-)

Things are going ok in our lives for now, and I'm thankful for that. Angela started working at an area vet last week, and she's been thrilled to begin receiving paychecks again. We thought she had been hired in permanently already, but she told us that the owner has all new employees work on a trial basis for 30 days, and if that works out well, then they will be hired and given a raise to boot. We're keeping our fingers crossed that Angela will do well and be hired permanently. Then she can stop borrowing so much money from us so we can pay OUR bills better.

It's been tough for Ang to go back to work and leave Dante. But most of her hours are afternoon and evening, so Dante only has to stay with the sitter for a few hours each afternoon, and then all day on Friday. At least she got to stay home with him for 4 months before heading bacak to work! The company I was working for when I had her made me come back to work after only 6 weeks, and that was tough!

Ang & I are sharing my car (her fiancee, Jason, drives HER car to work each day as he doesn't own a car, but he has also taken over making the payments and insurance, which has been helpful for us), and on the days she works, Tom has to pick me up on his way home from work (he doesn't mind). If Jason has to work late, then Tom has to go get Dante from the sitter's first, then pick me up at work. This sounds complicated, but has actually not been much of a problem as my work, the sitter's house, and our home are all in our town.

Ang continues to see various docs in search of help for her anxiety, depression and "focus" problems. She finally found a good Psychiatrist/Psychologist combined doctor earlier this month, and after her first (or maybe second) appointment, he diagnosed her with ADHD and possibly bi-polar disorder. (Tom & I had always wondered if she had ADD when she was a kid, but the doctors always shrugged off that idea...idiots!) The doc pulled her off some meds she'd been on, and is trying her on some new meds. Of course, while this is going on, she NEEDS to be able to work and function in life, and the transition between meds can sometimes make that difficut. The doc also scheduled her to see a behavioral specialist as Angela has nervous tendencies like picking her cuticles until they bleed and twisting her hair constantly. As a parent, you always wonder, "Why does she have these problems? Where did they come from?" and you hope that it's not due to anything you did while raising her. We're hoping that eventually, the various forms of therapy and meds will allow her to function normally in life.

The good news is that Ang has finally "crossed over" from being the party animal she was last summer, to the wonderful, loving and responsible mommy she is now. Woo hoo! That's certainly a relief for Tom and me. She's doing a great job at being Dante's mommy!!

Tom still has almost no work at his job, and he keeps wondering when "the hammer" is going to come down with folks losing their jobs (maybe him included). It's stressful for him to be "in limbo" like this. He continues to search for other jobs in his field, but no such luck yet. Also, he has an appointment with a diabetes specialist on Sept. 26 because his diabetes has been fairly out of control this past year. A lot of that is due to stress, I know. Hopefully, this new doc can help get him back on track.

I finally went in for my stress test last week too. I've had 2 docs tell me in the past few years that they hear a slight heart murmur in my chest. I'm waiting on the test results and hope to hear something this week.

Tom & I spent a couple of days up at the Rifle River on our friends property over Labor Day weekend. The weather was wonderful, and we enjoyed a 2-hour tubing trip one day, and then sitting in our chairs IN THE RIVER with our friends the second day. Of course, the river was ICE COLD as always; but it certainly was refreshing. Tom & I even dug out our 2-room tent and blow-up queen-sized bed (on a fold-up frame cuz I HATE sleeping on the ground) for the trip. It was cozy in there, and fun to tent camp again. Since we had left Rocco at home with Ang, we were able to stop at some cool stores on our way home too. We didn't buy much, but the window shopping sure was fun!

This past weekend, we attended a wedding reception for a guy Tom has worked with for 20 years or so. The bride and groom didn't have a ton of money, but they did some clever things with what they did have, and their wedding (on the beach in East Tawas two weeks ago) and reception Saturday night were really beautiful. Gave me some great ideas for making Ang's wedding and reception more affordable if they get married like they say they're going to next year.

Yesterday, we attended church at a sister congregation about 1/2 hour from our house because one of our godsons, who is 12 years old now, was taking his First Communion, and he wanted us to be there for it. We got to go up to the altar with him and everything. It was a beautiful service. Afterward, his folks (his dad is the pastor of the church we attended) invited us back to their house for lunch. We had been VERY close friends with this family in the late 1990's and early 2000's, but once the dad became a pastor, he got so busy that the 4 of us couldn't find time to get together these last 4 years. Things in his life are finally settling down more now, and it was just wonderful to be able to hang out with each other again and share a lot of laughs and good times. We left their house feeling really happy and refreshed, and they made us promise to start getting together with them again regularly. What a nice morning and afternoon!

Geez, I better get back to work! The time has just slipped away from me here. Have a pleasant week, my blogger friends!