| I just poured an entire glass of ice water on top of my Blackberry. Right before I leave for a business trip. (^*^*&^&*S(*()&S*(&! ARGH!!!! Guess I will be heading to the Sprint store tomorrow. Fark. Schnit!!
Archive for November 2nd, 2008
November 2nd, 2008 Posted at Blogging
Because memes are fun, I stole this from Judd’s blog, Sunday Stealing.
What are your nicknames? I could tell you but then I’d be busted. My everyday name is actually a nickname. I was called some nasty names in school, mostly weight-related. Love Mean Girls.
What TV gameshow or reality show would you like to be on? Um, none?
What was the first movie you bought in VHS or DVD? Sixteen Candles
What is your favorite scent? Lavender or, if we’re talking perfume, I currently wear Estee Lauder’s Sensuous.
If you had one million dollars to spend only on yourself, what would you spend it on? Only on myself? A used bookstore and lots of cats, comfy armchairs and tea to keep me company.
What is one place you’ve visited, can’t forget and want to go back to? Germany
Do you trust easily? Yes, far too easily
Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think? Act before I think
Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days? Yes. Divorce, dating, child-rearing, law school, work, illness. Long list!
Do you have a good body image? Sometimes
What is your favorite fruit? Blueberries
What websites do you visit daily? Bloglines.com, WaPo, NY Times, Facebook
What have you been seriously addicted to lately? Chocolate. Not good. And beer, also not good. These are stress responses. Oh, and self-help books!
What’s the last song that got stuck in your head? “Do Virgins Taste Better” by the Brobdingnagian Bards. I know, I know. 
It’s funny, though.
What is your favorite thing to wear? Right now I’m digging my Garden of Awesome t-shirt
Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy? Bleech, no!
What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground? Pick it up. Duh!
What items couldn’t you go without during the day? Lipstick (because my mother says I look like death without it), a sweater (because I am always cold) and music (because I always have some on).
What should you be doing right now? Packing!
November 2nd, 2008 Posted at Mommy stuff
I blogged last week about how I met with Pumpkinhead’s teacher, principal and counselor and they basically got me over a barrel regarding his “behavior issues.” They said that they will not advance him into gifted/talented or pull him into second grade for reading unless we medicate him. I considered my options, discussed the issue with his pediatrician and Chapin, and ultimately decided that our only option right now was to try the medication for a while and see how it goes. We do NOT want him to fail and right now kids refuse to play with him, he’s alienated the teachers and staff at school and he is coming home crying at night because he is so sad that he hasn’t received a star. Yes, part of this is the school. But I really feel like I’m in a hard position because I just do not have the ability right now to take them on.
Maybe if I was a really good mother, I would try other things like diet modification (suggested by my aunt) or re-education of his teachers (suggested by friends), etc. But I am about at the crawl-under-a-rock point right now emotionally, physically, etc. And I don’t want him to suffer more while I screw around trying to figure out the best approach. I did think about getting vitamins and passing them off as meds (so he’d think he was taking something and we could just tell the teacher he was), but I do think he needs help. The psychiatrist we saw observed him for an hour, read the testing report, and agrees. She prescribed Focalin (a Ritalin derivative) in a 5mg dose (smallest available) and gave us a behavior rating chart for his teacher and us to fill out now (based on unmedicated) and in two weeks. We will see how he does.
In the meantime, my friend, Mary Louisa, sent me a link to a great site with some wonderful information about gifted kids. I’m also going to look into various diets, but it will be extremely difficult to stick to any of them with all the crap he gets at school during snack and at aftercare. Plus my parents watch him most of the time while I am in school. They’ll do some things but not others. That makes it practically difficult to execute certain types of interventions. I do NOT want him to stay on meds long-term. But if this can help him calm down long enough to get his “executive functioning” skills up and get into the gifted/talented program so that he gets the stimulation he craves, that’s all I want. I don’t want to see them continue to come down hard on him and constantly reprimand him until his self-esteem is completely damaged. I saw that happen to my brother and look at him now… drugs, crime, abuse, etc.
I do appreciate any info people send along so please feel free to add links in the comments or e-mail me directly at ptlawmom at gmail dot com. Just know that this was a very, VERY hard decision for me to make and I’m not thrilled about it but it is what we’re doing for now.
Have to leave after class tomorrow for a few days away for work. Looks to be an insanely busy week! It’s almost 10 and I have yet to pack. Procrastinating with a little meme. 
Pumpkinhead and I had a blast trunk-or-treating on Friday night at the church where we attend DivorceCare. The families decorate the insides of their trunks and hand out candy from there. I’d never done that before. It was way fun!
Then we spent Saturday evening at Blue Eyes’ house where he made yummy grilled chicken, pork and veggies for us. Pumpkinhead went to play with friends for a few hours and Blue Eyes and I watched Office Space. Soooo funny!
Today we had lunch with Chapin so that he could see Pumpkinhead and we could go over some papers and other things. Chapin hung out and watched a DVD with Pumpkinhead and his friend for about two hours while I studied in my room. That worked out all right. Then I spent the afternoon trying to work with a very patchy Internet connection. Damn Comcast!! I’ve spent the evening Flairing out my Facebook page (now that I know where that came from – LOL) and IM’ing Blue Eyes. I need to get productive and start packing but I’m blah. Been hurting all weekend. Damn, damn, damn my stupid nerves. I thought that raising to 90mg of Cymbalta would have helped but it has just kicked my Bow-chicka-bow-wow completely into the ground. Yep, I am 29 going on 80. Going to take a B12 shot, make an appointment with the neurologist and keep moving.
H/t to The Nocturnal Wench
1. I’ve come to realize that my last kiss was… tender and sweet but frustratingly unproductive.
2. I am listening to… “Tu Sonrisa” by Elvis Crespo and the sound of Pumpkinhead snoring in my bed.
3. I talk… too fast!
4. I love… my son, books and chocolate. Combine them all and I’m having a great night!
5. My best friends are… in and out of my life. 
6. My love life… is a rollercoaster ride.
7. I hate it when people assume… that I am uptight, reserved or otherwise unpleasant.
8. Love is… intoxicating, hard to find and fun when you’re in it.
9. Marriage is… more difficult than outsiders can imagine but ultimately a worthwhile endeavor with the right person. It’s finding the “right” person that is hard.
10. Somewhere, someone is thinking… way too much about unimportant things.
11. I’m always… worried about something.
12. I have a secret crush on… no one. I’m not a secret crush kind of a girl, more of a “hey, I like you” kind of girl. Just ask Blue Eyes.
13. My cell phone… is a Blackberry, always at my side.
14. When I wake up in the morning… it’s because a five year-old has busted in for morning cuddles before we both get up to face the day.
15. When I go to bed at night…. I can’t sleep lately.
16. Right now I am thinking about… what to pack, all the crap I have to do tomorrow at work, whether it will get done, whether Pumpkinhead will be okay while I’m gone, whether the medication he’s on will work, whether Chapin will REALLY pick him up from daycare on Thursday, whether I will fall flat on my face at my presentations this week, and many other things.
17. Babies are… adorable and I’d love to have another someday but I think the neuropathy and malnutrition has probably slammed that door shut.
18. I get on Face Book… and spend waaayyy too much time on it.
19. Tonight I will… try to do something productive.
20. Tomorrow I will… try to get up and off to work early and actually make it to class like I’ve planned before catching my 9:20 p.m. flight out of the airport 1.5 hours from home rather than the one that is a mere 10 minutes from my house.
November 2nd, 2008 Posted at Blogging
This is me with most people in my life these days. LOL.
This week’s roundup is up at A Little Fish in Law School.
The Weekly MILP (Moms in the Legal Profession) Roundup is the brainchild of Saramel (retired). It is hosted on a rotating basis at the PT-LawMom, A New Duck and A Little Fish in Law School blogs and is usually posted no later than Monday morning. Next week’s MILP Roundup will be back here.
