Monday 2/1/99

"...Sue called last night...Mom is dangerously dehydrated, with the flu we suspect, and Sue took her to Scottsdale Memorial Hospital. A very tense day. Mom is stabilized but still in trouble...

" Mom still feels like hell...Sue is trying to get information from the Oncologist but he is being sort of uncommunicative. We hope that the Internist Dr. Bernstein will give us more info.

Took Mike in to the Dentist, he has a cavity and a 'baby tooth' that needs to be yanked.

Kaiser called ...again, Ms. Ramos, she said she was forced to cancel Autumn's CAT Scan for tomorrow because her records do not show her as being on my account, "I have called Mr. Daggett twice and he has not returned my call." Not true... "I am also not able to cover any of Autumn's visits for December. I will be sending out an invoice for services rendered today if I don't hear from you." ....and the part that really frosted me was "I have done all I can do and now you have to do your part."

Now, I have talked to this person three times, I have Faxed her Autumn's Adoption Papers, I have called the SBC "In-Touch" line (Benefits Committee) and had them FAX their assurance that Autumn is covered and has been since last September.. I have done this twice. I have been with these people for over 20 years. I understand that my children are mucking up the works with status changes, name changes and all sorts of other complications. but they are making their incompetence my problem .... And it p----s me off ... to no end. I tell them about changes on the phone and fill out the forms and FAX the certificates that they ask for and their software just mucks it up. Changes in one system aren't updated in another, Mike has two names and two numbers in their computers...Lord knows what they have for Autumn....

Example: Mikes accident was paid by Kaiser ....on Christians account number so, Kaiser says they paid $600 to the ambulance company and $450 to the radiologist but the ambulance company and radiologist recorded the check under Christians name. (They couldn't care less about Kaisers "Record Numbers") and they turn around send us bills on Mike, We tell them that Mike is covered by Kaiser, they complain to Kaiser and the Twinkie drones look up Mike Daggett on her terminal and say, We do not have Mike covered." .... because he is in their computer as Tim Rose. But the computer that pays the bills said that they paid Mike Daggett's bill, but in reality it was paid on Christians account...Bozos

Well.. I called SBC again, they called Ms Ramos .... again. Autumn's appointment is "on" for tomorrow. But I know that in about two months I will get a call from Ms Ramos or her clone threatening me with more punitive actions because I'm not doing my part. I have no patience with bureaucrats at least the petty people who refuse to do anything that isn't in their "job description"... like 'THINK'. The bone heads that won't think or take the initiative and ask a question or try a different spelling or say to themselves "Well, gee, he's been a customer for 25 years, perhaps I could call and talk to him and find out what the situation is......"

1099 forms arrived from Smith Barney, my goal will be to finish my taxes by the end of the week

"...Mom is feeling a little better, she will be in the hospital for the rest of the week, at least. Then the plan is to get her into a "Skilled Nursing Facility" until she gets her strength back.

Christy took off at 0600 with Autumn to get to Kaiser for her CAT Scan.

I cleaned all morning after taking the kids to school, the house was an so-so shape but far from clean when Jerry and Joanne came over with their kids Selena and a Foster Child. Jerry and Joanne were Autumn's Foster Parents, they cared for her for 2 years and 11 months. They have a lot invested in her emotionally. Christy wasn't back from the CAT Scan at Kaiser but he was just getting on the 14 Fry. About 20 minutes away when they arrived so we decided to meet at Sizzler and have lunch. The Sizzler is bad out here but it's fine for the kids and the grownups could sit and talk.

Mike and Christian went to Scotty's after school.

"...Christy slept while I went out to Wall Mart and Home Depot. Christy was up all night with Autumn, I doubt that she got two hours sleep, she used to be able to bounce back pretty quick but not any more. If she doesn't get her eight hours she's a bear, so am I.

Cindy went ya-ha, we need to get her medication adjusted again. It seems like she uses every ounce of self-control maintaining her cool at school. She gets in the van and is fine for about two minutes and then she goes bananas. Today Christian looked at her cross-eyed (Literally) and she clobbered him with her backpack, Katy Bar the door. She was screaming so loud the Vice-Principal on the other side of the street heard her, I waved to her and shrugged, so did she, she knows Cindy.

Autumn was up all night and Christy and I got up a lot. Christy got very little sleep, I am Navy trained, where sleeping is concerned I can sleep through a 4 alarm fire.

I was buzzing down the dirt road about 25 mph taking Calie to dance class, late, and passed a guy going about 5 mph in the opposite direction. He looked at me like he thought I was blatantly violating some fundamental code of human decency. He gave me a hand signal that implied he was really perturbed at me. It pissed me off, I couldn't figure out what his problem was, dust?, no it had just rained, did he suspect that I was a danger to him hurtling down the road at 25mph? actually less than that because I slowed down a little when I saw him, maybe just under 20. Did he think I was mistreating the poor old Buick? Was he the patron saint of abused automobiles?

Coming back from dropping Calie off at dance I saw him again at the top of the paved road. He was about to make a left turn off the dirt road and onto the paved road. I slowed way down and rolled down my window in case he wanted to talk, he didn't. The jerk actually tried to "teach me a lesson" by flooring his pretty, new, red Nis-yot-zu what's-it-mobile, just barely missing my rear fender. I hate to admit it but I got a little upset. I turned around and tried to follow him into Yuppie-town but the old Buick was no match for the Nis-yot-zu. I will find him someday and try to figure out what his problem is.

I have mentioned before that I am not normally a confrontational person. I would rather talk than fight. The last time I was in a fight I was in the Navy, I lost it. I won't run away but I will walk away if I can. However, I have noticed a subtle change in my personality of late. I would still prefer to walk away but I have developed a decided loathing for self-appointed critics who feel they have been given the right to pass judgment on others. When I hear someone make a judgmental comment about anything I start to fume. If some one frowns and shakes their head at me I jump down their throats. The jerks that flip you off for not driving the way they do, the self involved pinheads that think they are the single most important entity in the universe...some other time... I can write about being mad when I'm mellow but not when I'm still upset...

"... Sue called, Mom will be moved on Monday if they can find a bed. Sue got a lot of information from the Doctors today... Sue is going to get me an airline ticket for next Wednesday. She has a travel agent and has a use for frequent flyer miles. I will probably stay a day or two. Given another venue and a less varied audience I could do about 20 pages on what I'm feeling at this moment

...Spent the morning at Kaiser, Autumn was up all night again with asthma, turns out she has an infection so we got some antibiotics for her. I had to get my blood tested to see if my cholesterol level has gone down. I hope so, My cardiologist Dr Tegget is getting a little exasperated with me.

I wake up and take a shower and make note of the scar on my chest, it startles me sometimes, there are even mornings when the significance of that scar slips right by me. I don't spend much time contemplating my mortality, I wish I was an obedient, conscientious, anal sort of personality that could eat right, exorcise religiously, eliminate all stress, get the.... but I'm not. I do what I have to do to get through the day, It seems like I have very little time for myself but I guess It's enough.

Poor little Autumn has been at Kaiser all morning getting poked prodded X-rayed, and stuck with needles, she has a fever of 102^o , asthma, an infection in her chest, she is just miserable and she can't tell us where she hurts. She just whimpers, it's so pathetic. Christy has been holding her for about 4 hours, Autumn is so congested she can't sleep, her coughing wakes her up. It's 20:30 and we're still watching Barney Videos....

Autumn finally went to sleep after another breathing treatment

"...Mom is feeling better but they are having no luck alleviating the symptoms that have dehydrated her.

I laid the first layer of the counter top for the new section. I put the doors on the new cabinets

Grandma and Aunt Patty (Christy's sister) came over late in the afternoon. Pat brought her and Mike's tax data and I did her Taxes tonight. I hate when someone beats me getting their taxes done...I'll shoot for next weekend to finish mine I guess.

I have used Turbo-Tax since about 1989, I think, hardly seems possible that I've been at this that long. I have to buy a new program every year, each year it gets slicker and more comprehensive, it's probably my imagination but it seems to take longer to do my taxes each year too. Every year they add new features, video's and all sorts of pop-up help screens it's just thing to distract you after another. It's still a pretty neat program, I have tried several tax programs and this one is the easiest to use, in my humble estimation anyway.

"...I had asked Sue to get my tickets but she is up to her elbows in alligators at the moment trying to get all the ducks in a row. I told her I would get my tickets to Phoenix on the Internet. Well I did, sort of, I tried "Cheaptickets.com" but I got confused by the rates they quoted. The cheapest fares are on Southwest so I went directly to their site, after finding the flight I wanted I still had too many questions so I called their 800 Number. They were very prompt and helpful but...short notice.... one way is expensive.

I should get in Wednesday at 13:10 Phoenix time. Ross will pick me up. He said something about taking the South side corridor to the down escalator on the East side of the Terminal to the North side by Baggage Claim. He'll be easy to spot driving his miniscule white Honda Civic. ..Just kidding Ross...I'll find him or vice-versa.

Monday 2/8/99

"...Another logistical mish-mash, we were cruising into the morning when Christy realized that she had to take '"B" into Lancaster to the neurologist. I managed to get Autumn on the bus on time, she still has a runny nose and is a little raspy but no fever and she seemed pretty perky.

The kids were out of school for Presidents Day or Lincoln's Birthday or something, took Christian to his friend Anthony's house. Took Mike to Scotties house and the rest of us to McDonalds and

School called about Autumn falling asleep. I said I'm not surprised, She had her Phenobarbital for seizures, Alupent for Asthma and Dimetapp for a runny nose.

"I took Mike to Dr. Rupp, The medication he is taking now is having a strange effect on him, he cries. He doesn't seem to cry for any particular reason but its deep, profound, sobbing, devastation. It comes on him out of the blue and totally consumes him. Dr Rupp and I decided that we need to modify his medication, I think I would like to take him off completely for a couple weeks to see what we have. I am concerned that we are prescribing medication to modify behavior induced by other medication that was prescribed to modify behavior, and on and on...I think we have to wait for spring break to do anything too radical because I am apprehensive about his ability to control his impulses. Remember that he has to be a perfect little angel till July 28. I am afraid that taking him off his Imipramine may cause him to regress and if he does I want him home ... not at school.

My history with the school is that they are bureaucrats at heart and afraid that bending the 'rules' would be like parachuting blindfolded. Rules in most cases start out as suggestions that work, then they turn in to guidelines because they produced success, when people think they have a better idea and start modifying the guidelines that makes the bureaucrats nervous because bureaucrats survive on the status quo, so the bureaucrats make rules. Change frightens them and a person out of step is an anathema to them. If I tell the school to keep an eye on Mike because we are taking him off his medication they would be unable to give him any slack if he screwed up, he would be scrutinized to the point he would get busted for anything and everything.

Tonight was Christy's night out. She met Carol and they went cavorting about Palmdale for about 3 hours. (They went to dinner at the Thai place, shopping at Wall- Mart, and Lucky's.)

"...Cindy was 'full o' prunes', as my Dad would say, so I had to leave her home to mellow out. I took the rest of the kids to school and came back to pick up Cindy, Autumn and Christy. We dropped Cindy off at school, she was only a few minutes late, and we went on to Burbank Airport. I got there at 09:30, which was pretty early because the flight wasn't till 10:55. Being early was unavoidable because Christy had to be back home to get Autumn ready for school and on the bus at 11:00.

I flew on the Cattle-Car (Southwest Airlines); I actually prefer them, why pay an extra 25 - 50% for an assigned seat? Plus, they are on time, courteous, and efficient. One thing I found amusing /interesting was the pathway painted on the floor with little foot stickers leading up to the check in desk. I was the first one there, (Gate A2) no passengers and no one to give me my plastic boarding pass, I looked at the pathway with the little feet and said to myself "I'll be damned". I went to the counter at Gate A1 and asked when someone (Digression: This has always bothered me, how come 'someone' is one word and 'no one' is two words) would be at gate A2. The lady said that someone would be there one hour before departure so I went back down the corridor for some coffee and a banana. When I got back to A2 it was still too early for anyone to be at the counter but there was an older person there, standing near, but not on, the first foot stickers. He made it clear with his body language that he had staked out the first position. Two more guys showed up in their early sixties and actually stood on the stickers, A lady came up and stood with her feet on the next pair of stickers. I watched from a seat near by. A little later a middle-aged guy in a suit tried to stand at the counter and #3 Sticker-Feet-Person, a loud portly clown with too may cowboy affectations to be carrying a portable computer and a Ralph Loren designer carry-on... He had a Cowboy Hat with a silver and turquoise hat band, Cowboy boots, Buffalo Bill style deerskin coat.. with 6' fringes on the hem and sleeves, and a belt buckle as big as a saucer plate. Empowered by his regalia no doubt; He Said; "Hey buddy, get in line with the rest of us cattle." Now... as near as I could tell, there were no rules posted, only two parallel lines about 16 inches apart with little foot stickers in the middle. This guy wasn't an employee. But, he felt that the lines and the fact that he lad claimed his foot stickers gave him the authority to enforce the "foot sticker rule". Fascinating.... The counter lady showed up a minute and 40 seconds under the wire. She accommodated the line in less than three minutes and I went up to the counter and got boarding pass # 11, I didn't use the foot sticker path. There were about three other people who refused to claim stickers, one of them smiled at me and shook her head.

The plane started moving at 10:54:12 and docked in Phoenix at exactly 13:08, two minutes early.

As I walked off the ramp in Phoenix I heard someone say, "Peter" (My family calls me 'Peter') and saw my sister waiting. She took off at a pretty good clip down the hallway, we went zigzagging through the airport taking a path that never would have occurred to me. Sue picked Ross and Jack out of the crowd in Mom's little red Pontiac, it was a good thing Sue was there because Ross said he would be in the white Honda, I never would have spotted him.

Ross dropped us off at the hospital and we went up to see Mom. She was plumbed up pretty good but seemed to be in pretty good spirits. She had been sitting in the chair prior to our arrival and seemed to be out of breath from all the exercise. Mom looked pretty good considering what she had gone through. We talked for about an hour and we left for dinner when it became obvious that Mom was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

We ate at what seems to be Sue and Ross's favorite Mexican Restaurant and ate a pretty good meal, they serve Jalapeño Poppers with red jalapeño's I've never seen them before, delicious.

I slept in the "Train room (*)" and actually slept pretty well until I woke up at about 04:50. I could hear the Aleman's getting ready for work in their room below me. Sues house doesn't need an intercom because the acoustics in the ventilation system are worthy of Carnage Hall. I got up at 0600 and took a shower, Sue had provided me with some nice yellow towels but I left them in the room, I stepped out of the shower and said to myself, "Well, Golly, you silly person" or something like that. There were only some decorator type washcloths there. Luckily I had brought my knapsack in with me, so I took out a tee shirt and used that, tee shirts are remarkably absorbent... Sue probably thinks I'm a real slob or very neat since I folded the towels back up and put them back exactly where she left them

* The Train Room is so named because that is where Ross keeps his model trains. He has had model trains as long as I have known him, the tiny ones where the cars are about 2 1/2 inches long. I peeked in the closet, he has a lot of train stuff. I keep hoping that one of these days he will set them up the way he wants them but that must be one of the lower priority things on his plate,

"...Sue and Ross spend a lot of time plotting out the logistics for their day just like Christy and I. Once they got the day all organized Sue and I took off to see Mom, picking me up my coffee at a Bagel shop on the way, I like the nasty smelling bagels, garlic, onion, Jalapeño. The one I got was pretty tame by my standards but it made the Jeep smell pretty good. They wanted to help Mom with some mundane stuff soon after we got there, so Sue and I took off for a little shopping. Mom wanted "scuff's" and tweezers. We got the Scuffs at the shop on the first floor of the hospital and the tweezers at Osco's. Sue needed to pick up some Valentines so we went to Hallmark, I bought Christy a teddy bear (safe to say here because she never reads these) for Valentines Day.

Sue knows her way around Scottsdale like a professional guide, I can get in and get out but that's it. Scottsdale and Phoenix are not set up for out-of-towners, if you don't live there you're screwed. When it comes to finding someplace to eat or getting from East to West you need a guide. Scottsdale is like San Ramon. There are rules about everything, signs, building sizes, shapes, and color so the Pizza Hut looks like the Shell station, which looks like the Beauty Parlor which looks like... you get the idea. Seems un-American some how. I have become accustomed to familiar sights and sounds and a homogenized shrink to fit world of regulated everything, makes me uncomfortable. When I'm walking down the street, I my latent paranoia senses that people are evaluating me and suspecting that I don't quite measure up to the standards they have set. Which is fine, I don't fit in, never will, wouldn't if I could. It's just me though, every one I met was very nice except for the yuppette in an Expedition who called Sue a "bitch"......

When we walked up to the Jeep we noticed a nice looking lady with blond hair in a Viking braid, driving an elderly Chrysler. As we pulled out we saw the Yuppette jabbering on her cell-phone poised to pounce on Sue's parking space. Sue chose to run interference and blocked the SUV while the Viking slipped into her slot. As we drove past the yuppette she veered toward us and yelled "Bitch". Sue has a dazzling smile. I think that from that moment on nothing could ruin her day.

We got back from lunch at a 50's Diner and were told that Mom would be moved down two floors to the "Skilled" Nursing Floor. For some reason that implied to me that there was a floor full of nurses that were less than skilled. I asked where the Incompetent Nursing Floor was but nobody seemed to hear me. Earlier I had noticed a nurse with short flaming red hair standing straight up, she was slim, tall and it occurred to me that if she was wearing a yellow uniform instead of a blue one she would look remarkably like a #2 Ticonderoga (sp)... I wish I could keep thoughts like that to myself but some sort of foot in mouth gene compels me to speak out... she was my Mom's nurse...Oh well...

They finally moved Mom downstairs and it was a beehive of activity. Just outside mom's room is a bank of phones and computers. There were at least fifteen people out there all talking on the phone or to one-another across the table. It sounded like a "Bookie joint" or telephone sales "Boiler Room". Mom's roommate is a sourpuss who I will deem to be named Frieda because she looks like a Frieda. Frieda said "What's wrong with you" Mom smiled and said, "Cancer"... I just hate reality...As Christine says TMI, Too Much Information.

I am going to buy Mom's car, the red Pontiac and one of the reasons for going to Arizona was to pick up the car. I took off for Acton at about 15:30. I made it home at about 21:00.

Christy had had to contend with "B", Christian and Mike fist fighting in the back of the van. That was bad enough but she was at the "Pay Here" window in line at McDonalds when it started. Cars in front and behind. Apparently, Christian had mentioned the "Twin Picture" (Professional double exposure) and "B" thought Lumpy had called him a "twin" and punched him. I didn't ask what was so bad about being a twin. Mike tried to get them to stop fighting because Mom was mad and in the heat of battle "B" kicked him in the head ... so Mike felt he had to dive over the seat and pound on "B" too. Chris was not a Proud Parent when I got home ...

Cindy's meeting with Dr Rupp was informative too. Cindy has more problems than we had hoped, Cindy's ability to cope socially and compete intellectually are not as high as we suspected/hoped. She is emotionally about 3 1/2 That explains the tantrums and hiding behind her smile. There is more but I am uncomfortable putting out even this much information... So, Mike Cindy and "B" will receive much more therapy and probably be on some sort of medication for a long time.

"...Mike's buddy Ben came over last night, he really seems to need reinforcement from his pals, so far his pals are pretty much OK. Another buddy called and invited him to a Birthday Party at FunLand at 14:00. Mike's other pal Scotty went with them. Mike and Ben rode their bikes down to Scottie's. At 13:30 I took them to FunLand

Grandma called and said that She, Aunt Suzie (Christy's sister Susan, not mine) with her grand kids Tyler and Torie, also Aunt Pat and Aunt Karen wanted to come over. These are Grandma and Aunts from my children's perspective. Suzie lives in Henderson Nevada and hasn't seen the Taj Mahal of kitchens. Next thing you know there will be a sign down by the Freeway saying:

This way to the "Damnkitchen"

We will be a tourist stop in AAA Magazine.

We had submarine sandwiches and soda, there was a lot of stuff left over, Karen said "There is so much left over it looks like we didn't touch it" Grandma said "Christy always over does every thing, you know that..." Why am I always the last to know...

Lorna Johnstone, Scotty's Mom, called and asked if I had picked up the kids, I said no, She said that her husband Scott who is a Police Officer had gone to pick them up and they weren't there. About 20 scenario's flashed through my mind and the only logical one was that he had missed them. Christy assumed that they were all kidnapped and sold to pedophiles in Belgium. I decided that I should go look for them myself and Christy said Scott was going and I could ride with him. I got in the car and drove to the Johnstone's house. My phone rang when I got there and Chris said that Mike had called and wanted to know when we were going to pick them up. Scott said that the boys told him that they were playing miniature golf.

I called Mom, Sue had called and said Mom was feeling pretty good, considering. Mom had had a visit from Bradford Hayward and Mac Bartlett. Mac and Bradford barely knew each other in Ashland, Mac went to school with Mom's sister Rachel and Bradford went to school with my Mother. Mac lives in Litchfield Park and Bradford lives in Tucson. Sue said that they hit it off pretty well. Mom really enjoyed their visit.

"...Daytona 500 today, or have they named it the Nabisco Ginger Snap 500... I can't keep up. I love races I will watch any kind of a race. Cars, motorcycles, people, turtles... I don't care. I used to love to race on foot or on my bike but the opportunities to do that sort of thing have diminished. I couldn't beat Calie in a foot race and I sold my motorcycles years ago. I have let getting back into motorcycles enter my mind a couple of times lately, a friend had a Honda 750 Super-Sport for sale for $2,000.00, now, if I had 2k to spare...

Jeff Gordon won the race, He is an impressive driver, people are polarized in that they like or dislike him intensely. I don't understand it. He seems like a tough guy with a slick exterior. He's not one of the 'Moonshiner' 'Outlaw' crowd and the rednecks are not giving him any slack. I think that the people that don't like him, don't like him just because he's an outsider. The kids like him because he wins...

Mike and Scotty went back to the scene of the crime, FunLand, he hit me up for another 10 bucks.

There is a problem with the countertop tile, when we lay out the 4' tiles there is a 1/2 inch left over. Since we are using black grout what ever we do will be glaringly apparent. I think I can buy a 1/4 inch by 6' tile, I have seen 1/2 inch tiles, I will have to go out tomorrow and see what's available.

"Preach the Gospel at all times --

use words if you have to"
-- St. Francis of Assisi

Monday 2/15/99

"... I got yelled at by the Cardiologist today, Cholesterol is up, Triglycerides are up, Weight is up (damn). I've been a Baaaad Boy. Where do people find the willpower to take care of themselves? I managed to quit smoking after 39 years but remembering to take a pill every morning and eating sanely is apparently beyond me. I shall endeavor to persevere....

After leaving Kaiser I went shopping to take my mind off it. This decision must be a residual effect from being raised by my Mom with 2 sisters, Dad was a traveling leather salesman so we spent a lot of time with Mom. Shopping, does seem to have a calming effect on me. Now don't get me wrong, I don't really "shop" like some people I know. I don't spend hours and hours wandering around malls, making phone calls, driving hundreds of miles to save $2.00 on a $8.00 item. I know how to shop, It's just not a religion. I wander and window-shop and watch the people. When I actually spend money is like I have failed. As though I have somehow succumbed to some base urge, I dash in, pay, and get out, as fast as possible, I'd wear a disguise if I could. A surgically planned military foray into enemy territory. I think it may have something to do with astrology, my Sun Sign is Cancer which is a frugal sign, my Moon sign is in Pisces which makes me a little frivolous, in other words, I love to spend money but I hate myself afterwards....

I took Cindy to "Art Therapy" I suspect that this may be a waste of time and energy, I sometimes succumb to the pretense that doing something is better than doing nothing but in this case ... I don't know if it's helping her, she seems pretty tense

While Cindy was being "stimulated" at the therapy session I went to the used video store down the street. They have a lot of videos for sale and I have found a couple '40s type westerns there. There is a large Porno Section in the back, behind some doors. The clerk and the guard are both women and I imagine that they are used to middle aged men going straight to the back room. Well, I was looking for Barney Video's for Autumn, when I asked if they had any they looked at each other as if no one had ever asked that question before.

Mom will be going to a Hospice 'clinic' to have her needs evaluated soon, we are waiting to find out all the particulars, Mom needs too much care now to go back to Sue's house.

Tuesday 2/16/99

"...I got all the kids to school that were going to school and raced back to bail out Christy.

Christy took "B" to 3632 Evaluation At Acton school at 0930. There is no change and we will keep him at Agua Dulce School for a while, It's a pain taking him over there but I think it's for the best. He seems to tolerate it there, barely, but he hated Acton School too, ".... Grass is greener syndrome"

I left about fifteen minutes later to take Mike to his 3632 Evaluation in Canyon Country 10:00.

Tim's therapist is named Marina. She is about 25 or 26 and about 5 feet tall, about 98 pounds, Russian, and absolutely adorable. During the interview, while I was describing my family I actually got to say "...and I have three grown sons, all of them are older than you are". She smiled politely, I think she has heard that before...I got the feeling that Mike made a good impression on her (even if I didn't) and she seems anxious to help him.

Mike told her he wants to change his name back to Tim... I forget.... Are all 11 year olds this fickle? I don't think that I'll change it legally, it's just too much trouble, It is legal to go by your middle name, actually you can deem yourself to have any name you want as long as you don't do it to defraud or to hide from the law. At least now I don't have to call him Mike ant more. So, let it be known from this date forward the "My Son, Formerly Known as Mike" is now named Tim. I just may call him the "My-Son-Formerly-Known-as-Mike" for a while just to rattle his cage.

Christy picked Christian up early and took him to see Dr Rupp. Christian is a total imp and a real charmer. We just have to get him calmed down during the day for school.

Tim was fine today, "B" tried to instigate some trouble but no one fell for it. Calie had another bout of bazaar behavior, anger for no apparent reason, lasted about a half an hour from 1730 to 1800, Cindy went into "Crude Baby" mode for a while but she came out of it after Christy came home.

Wednesday 2/17/99

 Took Autumn to the ENT people to have her hearing tested, she is fine. It was fun to watch her learn the process, then show off her prowess, then get bored, and then get mad. She really has a lot of potential, we are anxious to get her new therapy's rolling. The Speech Therapist at her school is going to rev up her therapy about 120 %, she is even going to come to the house to help her during Easter Vacation.

Calie got angry again today. She was fine when she got home for about a half an hour then she just got mad. She got mad at Mom and me and Tim. Stomping around, hitting people, yelling, crying, a classic tantrum. I hope she outgrows this soon.

Thursday 2/18/99

"..."B" was up all night with and ear ache... He woke up several times crying. Christy took him in to Kaiser at 0900. He has infections in both ears.

Mike went to Scotties, I wend down to pick him up at about 22:30.

Calie refused to go to Dance Class, she cried like I was taking her to be sacrificed to lions. She was awfully emphatic about it. Calie loves to dance, I don't understand. She says it's not fun, all they do is the same steps over and over. Then she said she didn't have the right cloths, we went back in the house and found her pink leotard with a little skirt and she seemed appeased. I told her I would go down and talk to the instructors and find out what is going on, dancing should be fun, if it's not fun, what's the point. When I told her I was going to talk to the people down there she got in the van and "You don't have to talk to them now Daddy". On the way we saw Mom coming up the hill and I stopped her because I wanted to tell her to pick up the Mail. All the kids said "I want to go with Mommmmmy" and bailed out of the van like it was on fire leaving me and Calie. I looked over at her and tears were just streaming down her cheeks, no way I was going to make her go to dance class. I will go down there Saturday and ask some questions...

I had a long Chat on ICQ with my second oldest son, Rob, tonight. He is doing just fine, he has a new (Since before Thanksgiving) love in his life, Stephanie, AKA Steph. (Beats Phanie I guess) I know she is a stewardess, I don't know what the PC term for that job is now "On-board Customer Interface Associate", probably. I'm a little out of touch... I don't even know which Airline, I don't know how old she is, or what she looks like (Rob's too frugal (Read Cheap) to buy a Scanner:-) Maybe he'll Snail Mail me a picture...Rob? Are you reading this Rob...? HEY ROBERT!

Any way, I know she's a Stewardess and that she set's his widdle heart all a-flutter and she is absolutely the most wonderful girl he has ever met and other gushy stuff like but ... other than that, I haven't a clue.

Friday2/19/99

"...A representative of the "Regional Center" is coming out to "The Hovel" to "re-evaluate" Autumn's progress. This should be real interesting since they have never evaluated her before. We have to be nice to them though, because they possess the key to more services for Autumn. Autumn needs all the stimulation she can get.