The Homeschool Plague

We're new to this whole homeschool thing. There are days that I wonder what the hell I was thinking but most days I'm grateful to have this opportunity and love working with the boys. The biggest problem I've encountered isn't really a problem but it just kinda bugs me.



We interact with many people in a regular day. From store workers to waitresses and neighbors and friends. People always talk to the kids, or the kids talk to them. Duct tape should solve that little problem. . We all know that when you talk to kids the normal things get asked "How old are you?" "What grade are you in?" And then there's the one that makes us outcasts: "What school do you go to?"



Now as a mom to public school kids I never thought much about homeschoolers. I always found it interesting and appealing but never had a negative thing to say. Unfortunately, telling people that we homeschool is like painting a big red X over our heads because we must be religious nuts, crazy and obsessed with something or we must have this need to keep our kids out of and away from public school and the students who attend schools.



There isn't just a line in the sand between homeschoolers and public schoolers, its a freakin brick wall sometimes. And the question always comes up "why do you homeschool?" and you can sense it even if it isn't spoken. I notice myself constantly not only explaining our choice but also defending it. This isn't usually because someone has attacked our choice, but because I feel like if I don't explain it then I'm automatically stereotyped.



Now don't misunderstand. I totally get where this wall between the two gets built up. I recently joined a local group online of homeschoolers that meets weekly and communicates using yahoo groups. I read a few of their conversations and went ahead and deleted myself from their group. They were way too religious and anti-public education for my taste. I also have struggled to find a curriculum with a good balance of core subjects without over emphasizing religion.

We don't have the plague, we aren't crazy nutcases we just had some major issues with the local public schools. So major that one of the boys is now going to be seeing a psychiatrist and is on medication to help him control his crazy mood swings and impulsiveness. Thank you local elementary for failing to protect my children!

I'm glad that we're at the end of the school year and we're going to take a normal summer vacation and refuel for next year. We bought a complete curriculum which should be easy to follow as opposed to this year where we jumped in head first without time to plan or adjust.

Okay I'm off to count our hours and see how much more we have to squeeze in before we can officially start summer vacation!

And Now She's Gone

Last night was a bad night for Allie and I. She woke me up a couple times and I took her to the bathroom and loved on her a little but she cried. I woke up this morning and she had messed in the kennel and cried in pain when i tried to get her out. She was wobbly on her front legs and it seemed she may have been experiencing some pain and weakness in her front legs too.

I gave her a bath and cleaned her up. I called the vet and I made an appointment to have her put down today. She was in pain and I can't watch her suffer. The boys and I loaded up in the van for the drive to the vet. Allie just laid down and rode in silence. I thought about turning around and taking her home and waiting to see what tomorrow may bring.

Instead we kept going. I needed time to accept that she wasn't going to get better. The knot in her back where her spine is messed up was so much more pronounced the past couple days. I knew it wasn't going to end well and had to prepare myself. I'm sad. The boys are sad. Our other dog, an 11 year old Cocker Spaniel/Lab mix is sad. He's moping around. When we came home without Allie he waited by the door for her to come in with us.

She was a good dog. We had her for 4 1/2 years. We'll miss her dearly. And now we move on.....

I'm Finished I Swear........Except Maybe...

I've been busying myself with taking care of our recently paralyzed dog Allie. It is a pain in the butt and time consuming but I'm happy to still have my dog and she's happy and making the most of her new lifestyle.

I know I said I was done modifying her wheelchair. I was done. Until I saw that she was having a hard time turning because of how high the sides came up. I broke out the saw and the angled PVC connectors and went to work. Here is the final, final chair...I think...

This is before the last changes:


Here she is enjoying being outside. yes the one side sits a little higher than the other but not as much as it looks in the picture. I guess I'll have to fix that.... so much for being done!

Complete with doggie pick up bags on the side! I'm still going to get her a new harness that she doesn't have to have slid over her head and she'll like that. But for now a shoe lace through that one works fine.

Mow The Lawn

I was hanging out over on Betty Confidential reading this article. The article is based around this European commercial:



Apparently some women find it offensive. I on the other hand find it freakin hilarious and it makes me want to run out and buy this new razor/trimmer. My favorite part is when it says "all that's left to see is tulips on the mound" lmao! Too freakin funny!

Maybe I have issues......

The Arrows Tell You Which Way!

My friend is moving and I'm afraid it's too far away from my house. So at 8pm tonight we loaded up my van with my family and her and her three monsters kids to measure the distance and time of the trip.

Right off the bat her almost 5 year old started crying and whining that she was thirsty, then she was hungry and on and on. So we did what any good parents would do and turned up the radio. That's when it happened. The stupid song that I hate with a passion came on. The so-called friend that was riding with me just loves that song so she cracked up and turned the radio up and started singing along. So I did what any person who is driving HER OWN car and a song she hates comes on would do. I pulled over got out, stood behind the van with my hands over my ears.

Did I forget to mention our other two friends were in the van behind us? Right, so they were a tad confused. The jackass friend in the car was so sweet that she rolled down the windows and locked the doors and blasted the radio. The other van full behind us was not impressed. I went to get back in after this friend turned off the song but the door was locked. So I again did what a normal person would do and grabbed the roof rack and slid in through the window.

We continued on our adventure and passed the road we were looking for and took the next. We drove and drove and drove to see this house, in the dark, on a dark country road, that people still live in. Finally, 10.5 miles and 18 minutes into our trip (including my fit throwing time) and we found the house. Or wait, maybe it's that one? Or is it that one? What the heck they all look the same? Hmmm......

We drove down to the turn around thingy. I rolled down the window to tell the driver of the van behind us which house she thought it was. And then I smelled something. What the hell is that smell? It smelled like finger nail polish remover. OH well, we rolled up the window and drove on. That was when I got the text that the smell was a can of orange spray paint I had apparently run over! Super, just freakin super!

We found our way out of the little "neighborhood" back to the main road. I said to my navigator "which way do I turn?" She pointed left so I turned on my left turn signal indicator. Then the peanut gallery in the back seat pipes in "Michelle, the arrows tell you which way to go, why don't you just look at your little thing up there?"

I was confused. Maggie was turned off and there were no arrows on the road. Then she said "the little green blinking one". As if I'm completely stupid and had no idea the blinking arrow told ME which way to go instead of me flipping the switch in the direction I intend to go.

Thank God she won't be driving, or navigating anytime soon!

Sorry....

I'm sorry my last post was so psycho. I was having a rough day. I know many of you probably think I'm nuts. That the dog should be put to sleep if it can't walk or whatever but, well that's not happening. My past week has been totally consumed by Allie and how to handle her new found lifestyle. We are embracing it and enjoying making her cart and remaking it. We having finally settled on the design and used pvc cement to complete the new and improved Allie Mobile!

We took her back to the vet on Friday and they said she's doing good, not in pain, happy and as long as I'm okay with her care that we should just keep on keepin' on! So we will just roll with it and take it one day at a time!

Here she is with her newest set of wheels! Thanks for the support!

I Can't Make This Choice

I love my dogs. I can't imagine my life without dogs. I can't imagine our family with only one dog either. Allie is only 4. She shouldn't have to go so soon right? How the hell am I supposed to decide that it's time for her to die? That's effed up if you ask me! I can decide that I can't take care of her anymore. I can decide that she shouldn't have to live like this but does that mean she should have to die because of it? It's easy for everyone to say you've tried your best, you've done all you can and no one will think less of you if you decide to have her put down. I'm the one who has to say those words to the vet. I'm the one who has to go into the vets office with my little dog who's usually glued to my hip and walk out without her. I have to explain to the kids that Allie is hurt and can't live a normal life anymore so we're done with her because if she's not perfect we can't have that. What does that say to them about themselves? That because God made them a little different that they are less than perfect? This is not okay and it's effed up that I have to sit here alone trying to make this decision. This is a day that I'm angry as hell with my husband for not being here and trying to tell me over the phone what he thinks. This just isn't something our family can't handle right now. I'm taking my dog and we're going to bed and maybe tomorrow she'll wake up just fine.

How the hell am I supposed to put an end to this?

Allie's New Ride

Today i'm pretty sure i'm saisfied with the doggie wheelchair. Its been a lot of modifications but its kept me feeling like I'm taking a chance at making this work for all of us as opposed to jumping right to option 3.

So here she is, on her first outside adventure.

My Poor Dog

Once upon a time, long ago (in 2004) a just turned 25 Mom wanted a new puppy. Her hubby was getting ready to deploy and her kids were almost 2 and 3 years old. She searched and she hunted and finally found a Cocker Spaniel/Lahsa Apso mix puppy that she just had to have! Off she went to pay $150 (even mutts are expensive in Alaska).

That mom was me, 4 1/2 years ago. The puppy grew into my foot warming, always have to be up against me, sitting with me, following me around, sometimes annoying dog Allie. She's always been a pretty good dog. Every now and then she wanders out an open an open door and I have to yell to her from the door or go get her from a random neighbors yard but she's a pretty good dog.

On Monday everything seemed fine. Allie was being her normal under-my-feet self. She whined at night when I put her to bed in the laundry room. I finally gave in and went and got her and put her into my bed where she stayed the whole night. I was a little worried because she acted kinda odd but no biggie. The next morning came and she jumped out of my bed and went outside to do her business as usual and we went on about our day.

Monday night I came home and Allie couldn't walk. She drug her back legs behind her as she tried to maneuver from one place to the next. She was trembling terribly. We went to bed intending to call a vet in the morning. We made it to 1am before I had to call the emergency vet. They wanted me to keep her still and bring her in first thing in the morning because she wasn't in any pain.

The next morning came and I was scared because I had hoped I'd wake up and Allie would be all better. She wasn't. We got to the vet and they asked us to drop her off and they'd call us when they knew something. The boys and I tried to go on with our day as normal. A couple hours passed and we ended up at the vet. We asked about her progress they said they needed another hour and they'd call us. Tayton and Korbin were not okay with that and neither was I. We decided to wait there.

When they finished with the xrays and tests they called us into the room. Bad news. Allie is paralyzed from the "waist" down. She has some discs that have become damaged over time (not trauma) and just finally cut off that nerve.

We have to make some choices. She can't go to the bathroom on her own and she can't walk. But from the waist up she's her normal self. She's alert, fairly happy, still begging for food (now she is more likely to get it too), she's still our Allie but with a broken body.

In a perfect world she'd be having back surgery right now. In our world we can't expense $3000 on our dog. Especially because this is not from an injury its something that's been happening and just finally hit that last nerve.... in the literal sense. Option 2 is to try Prednisone and hope that if some of the inflammation in her back goes down we'll be able to see some improvement. And of course, option 3, if the quality of life she's left with or forces us into isn't working or she is in pain then we might have to put her down.

I don't get it! She's 4 1/2! Our other dog, he's almost 12! I got him when I was 19. She was fine 3 days ago. There was no red flags to say "hey somethings wrong with this dog!" I cried a lot. I didn't know what choice to make and Kirke's in Iraq and that makes the decision all mine. The boys are being wonderful!

We chose to try the medications. At least if it doesn't work and she's miserable we know that we have tried. I was able to stop worrying by thinking about some future things. We came home and priced doggie wheelchairs. For only $200-$400 dollars we could have a cart for our dog. Well that's just plain nuts if ya ask me! So after looking at several designs I decided to make my own. Once I got the idea I ran with it! We used the boys old training wheels at first and we used trial and error until we came up with a wheelchair for Allie. She enjoyed her renewed sense of freedom.

I can't find my camera charger so I had to use Tayton's camera to take this little video but here

she is with her cart.

Here are some random pictures. The first one is when the kids painted her. Then a haircut and some others.

I just don't know if it's fair for her to live this way or if I have time for two minor special needs homeschoolers and a major special needs dog......

An Update on an Update On a Hero

***ANOTHER UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST***

I just got this comment in my inbox and approved for this post but I wanted to make sure to share this update with all 3 of you who read my blog!

I know that I spelled his name wrong in the post but only because that's how it was in the article and I didn't want to change the article (even though the publisher obviously did), so I appologize to SPC Zimmermann and his family for that error.

Angela, SPC Zimmermann's Mom, found my blog and here's what she shared:

"Spc Zimmermann is my son and I'm thankful to all who helped him atfer he was hit, without them he probably would have not survived. he spent 4 weeks at Walter Reed in Washington DC, and is now home in Rolla, he just completed what is hopeully his last surgery #9, this past Friday, it was a skin graft and although he is in a lot of pain he is doing well".

Thanks for the update Angela! I'm so glad he's doing well and back home with you! My little boys would love to meet your son, they know that thier daddy got to help save him and want to see for themselves that he's okay!

I just got this comment from Angela today.

"Just another update about Daniel, he has a pretty bad infection and will have to have another surgery ths coming Friday at Ft. Wood."

They need prayers and good thoughts coming their way!

*Angela, if you read this could you email me privately kmtkbest@gmail.com we would like to put something together for Daniel and are interested in what he might like/need and the kids would like to write to him. Thanks so much! *

Death. Dying. What Matters Most?

My Grandpa, "Papa" as we've always called him died this week. He's been very sick with a lung disease caused from a factory where he worked a gazillion years ago. Exposure to asbestos or something of the sort. He was 73. His mother and father both lived to be in their 90's. He only has one living sibling out of four. His parents had to bury two of their children in their lifetime. I'm sure he was thankful to never have had to go through that.



Papa was a big strong, hard working man. He worked hard but he partied harder! He was a drinker and an opinionated man. Sometimes those things don't mesh so well together. This was my dads father. He was a good man.



The term Grandpa can mean so many things. They come in so many forms. This grandpa wasn't one who thrived on being a grandfather. As I said before he believed in hard work and harder play, but this wasn't meant in the way I play hard with my kids. His idea of playing was partying. Drinking, playing cards, dice or whatever the game of the year was at the time. He wasn't affectionate or compassionate. He didn't ever work to win us grand kids over. So it is what it is.



He was grandpa. I loved him. I respected him. I'll miss seeing him when I go home. My heart breaks for my dad who is burying his father today. He's stuck in the same rut as I am. He has memories, he loved his dad but the effort to be a kind hearted loving father to my dad just didn't happen. He worked hard, and taught my dad the value of hard work which was passed on to us and for that I am grateful.



I don't know where my Dad gets it from but he skipped the drinking part of the lessons Papa gave and absorbed the having fun with friends and to Dad that also means family. Thank God it didn't stop there because my dad taught me how to be a fun loving caring and affectionate parent. We worked our butts off on whatever project he was working on with Papa but then we got to cut loose and play. And it wasn't just us kids being shoved off to go play either. My dad would lead us as we played crazy games in the yard. We played a boatload of kickball and hide-n-seek as well as other very strange games but we laughed. We learned the value of getting a job done and then playing hard till the end of the day and going to bed happy with hugs and kisses and "I love you".



Today when my dad gives his fathers eulogy I know that his heart will be breaking for the things he missed out on during his lifetime. The joys and warmth felt by wrestling and playing with your kids and grand kids. Laughing till it hurts because the kids are being silly and loud and not being aggravated by the noise of children laughing too loud or screaming in excitement. My children will be able to remember all of their grandparents with fond memories because the few time they see them each year or two they make the most of it and work hard to build on these memories.



I'm glad Papa doesn't hurt anymore and he passed on without regret but I highly doubt that was possible. And that makes me more sad than losing him.....

Why Won't They Sleep?

Instead of flowers or cards we sent this picture to our good friend who's battling cancer right now. He came through the surgery well and they're waiting on the pathology reports. Keep praying!

Ok so enough serious stuff lets get on with the title of this post!

THEY WON'T SLEEP!!! Seriously it's really starting to bug me! How am I supposed to play Rock Band and Mario Kart sip tea and read a good book to relax if they won't go to sleep?

I put their scrawny little butts to bed at a decent time I swear! Korbin used to be my sleeper but now since he's on concerta his naughty little butt won't sleep. Nope, I go to bed at 12 or 1 and go to tuck them in and then he pops up like a freakin Pop Tart and starts telling me some story!

The other night when I couldn't sleep I was up till about 230. I laid in bed listening to the wind howl outside my window. I was half expecting the house to fall down but I'm cool, I'll roll with it! So anyhow I just get comfy and all of the sudden I heard a sound. I wasn't sure if it was a kid, dog, chinchilla or the wind.

I lowered my cover and looked in the direction of the door. There, about 3 inches from my face was a kid! I screamed, then he screamed, then we both busted up laughing. Little snot! He came in to tell me a story about something, who knows what it was with him! Probably some humanitarian effort to save straws from restaurants to build houses for grasshoppers because then we'd be reusing our old items instead of throwing it away as well as helping grasshoppers be more comfortable. And surely the straws could be filled with dirt to insulate the grasshopper huts and I went to sleep so who knows what happened next.

The only reason I know he sleeps is because he's a pain in the a butt to wake up each day!

Speaking of which, it's 1:30 I should try the whole sleeping thing huh?

26 Things You are Dying to Know About Me...Or Not

I boosted this from Roger aka MylHiBug on twitter over at A Screed in Time.

A - Age: 29, seriously I am, 1979 baby!!

B - Bed size: Queen

C - Chore you hate: Unloading the dishwasher, put away laundry, go through paper work

D - Dad's Name: David

E- Essential start to your day item: Opening my eyes, lol! Brushing my teeth for sure!

F - Favorite actor(s): Chad Michael Murray mmmm mmmm mmmm he is soooo freakin HOT oh the things I could do............oh right, public blog not penthouse letters.....sorry. I've been alone too long people!!

G - Gold or Silver: Gold

H - Height: Super TALL 5ft 4in

I - Instruments you play(ed): Trumpet in 6th grade

J- Occupation: SAHMHSAW (stay at home mom-homeschooling-army wife!)

K- Kid(s): Tayton 7yo and Korbin 6yo

L - Living arrangements: Situationally Single Mom of two boys, two dogs and two chinchillas missing my husband in Iraq.

M - Mom's name: Paula (no really people really named their kids this can you believe that?) Love ya mom and Grandma too!

N- Nicknames: Micky, Shell, Shelly (outgrew that one phew!) Babe, Sexy, oh right those last two....

O - Overnight hospital stay other than giving birth: many

P - Pet Peeve: Brandy and Amber

Q - Quotes you like: I'm too tired to think that serious right now, sorry.

R - Right or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: Real- David Step- Sabrina, Jeremiah, Jason, Steve

T - Time you wake up: as late as possible!

U- Underwear: check

V - Vegetable you dislike: peas! Seriously food should not explode in my mouth when I bite into it IYKWIM!!

W - Ways you run late: Kids are pokey, I'm overestimate my ability to go from bed to the van in less than 10 minutes.

X - X-rays you've had: OMG

Y - Yummy food you make: EVERYTHING I make is yummy duh! Otherwise I wouldn't be feeding 12 people most nights!

Z - Zodiac: Sagittarius

Ok now i need all of you reading this to do it too because I am up at 230am and I need to be bossy, it's what I do.

Mama Kat's Assignment: Somebody I'm praying for?

Strangely enough I'm supposed to be in bed asleep. The problem is that I can't seem to get there. I laid in bed and my mind just wandered. I said my normal prayers and then I went off on a rampage on one person, one family that I'm praying my little heart out for right now.

Mama Kat has a weekly writers workshop. I've done it a time or two. So when I got out of bed and sat at my computer I looked at my google reader and there it was "Your assignment should you choose to accept "..... I clicked. Here are this weeks prompts:

The Prompts:

1.) Somebody I'm praying for....

2.) I don't believe in prayer because...

3.) What are you putting off right now?

4.) You can go back to your childhood for one day. What day and age do you choose?

5.) Your friend tells you he can pick up any girl at the bar, no matter what he says. You bet him $100 he can't. Create the world's worst pick up line and send your friend off into the crowd. What happens? (writersdigest.com)

Well easy enough for me to choose.

There's this family that meant the world to me growing up. I remember the day I met my good friend Weezy. I was playing in the yard of a neighbor when I was 12 almost 13. I was playing with my neighbors 4 year old. Weezy stopped and was talking with the neighbor and I ran over and played with the two precious girls in the coolest stroller I'd ever seen! Weezy invited me to come hang out at her house while she did chores around the house and basically trained me to be a babysitter. At first I went twice a week so she could get things done and then as time passed I found myself at their house most days of the week. Sometimes to play with the girls and sometimes to talk. Weezy was one of the best listeners I'd ever met in my life. I confided in her and she never seemed to judge me.

The following summer when I was 13 her 13 year old nephew come to stay. Not only did Weezy give me my first babysitting job she also brought me my first summer fling boyfriend. This led to my first kiss which led to my first make out sessions. I remember Blind Melons song No Rain playing a lot during these make out sessions....lmao! I know that Mark (Weezy's husband) caught us a few times but he never said a word to me about it (probably just to his nephew, maybe some high fiving going on there, MEN!)

What felt like a million years later but was really only 7 years later Weezy and her husband took my wedding pictures. Their three daughters ages 4, 7 and 10 were all in my wedding. They were incredibly beautiful and poised! I admired this family from the day I met them. They inspired me in so many ways. In fact they were the first and only homeschooling family I'd ever met! And thank God I did because she's guided me through this whole getting started with the naughty little blond boys home schooling adventures!

So on to the assignment.

This family needs prayers and it is seriously pulling at my heartstrings. (Whatever that means, cause I don't think my heart has strings but if it does it's definitely being tugged right now!) The girls are now 14, 17 and 20. And absolutely three of the most beautiful and talented, well rounded, kind hearted girls I've ever known in my life! Mark and Weezy continue to do wonderful things for other people, the girls are in school now and Mark and Weezy are very into their sports and activities.

Well a few months ago Mark had a bout with a cancerous tumor that was removed and they went on about thier lives without much of a hitch it seemed. When I was home in January toward the end of our visit Weezy informed me that Mark had a lymph node in his leg pop up over night and it was to be biopsied asap. They got the results a few weeks later. Turns out it's cancer.

It's cancer and the prognosis isn't so sunny. I know I don't have my facts all straight but I do know that without surgery to remove the nodes in his leg/legs death is certain within 2 years. With the surgery and further biopsies on all the nodes removed 5 year survival is considered good if the cancer has spread to more than the one already confirmed.

Friday is Marks surgery. There are some major risks of the surgery as they have to operate over the femoral artery. I'm scared. I'm scared for this family that I love so much. I'm scared for Mark. I'm worried about the stress on all of them and the fear they must be feeling right now. I've been praying for them, and listening when Weezy's up for a chat. But it doesn't feel like enough. Mark needs to be there to give away his little girls in their weddings. He needs to be there to throw my boys around again when we come to visit. They adored him when were home this last trip.

Cancer sucks! I hate it! I hate how it can take a seemingly healthy person and turn them into a shell of being who's just struggling to make it through another round of chemo and radiation. I'm not only praying for Mark and the rest of the family but I pray to God that there is a cure for cancer in the near future.

I'm doing Relay For Life again this year. Not as a chairperson this year, only as a team captain but I'm gonna work my butt off to raise tons of money to help support beating this horrible disease!

What do you pray for these days?

Words of a Hero

I hadn't mentioned it before but since it's all over the newspapers apparently it's ok for me to post. Kirke's platoon was hit a month ago. We got the call at 7pm Feb. 19th and were told it was our platoon but the only wounded soldier was SPC Zimmerman. At that time I didn't know where Kirke was at in all of the mess and how it had affected him emotionally. I didn't hear from him for nearly 24 hours from when I got the call. He told me what little bit he could share at that time. He was in the vehicle behind the one that got hit and he, along with two other soldiers were instrumental in saving this young soldier.

WORDS OF A HERO

What Happened to Me in Iraq

by Daniel Zimmerman

I’ve read the newspapers and I just wanted to clear up some of the stuff, but here it is:

Feb. 19, 2009, my maintenance/recovery team and I were out in support of a 3 week long mission. Which means we were off of our normal FOB and traveling to other FOBs when needed. One of the engineer groups we were supporting had a mine detonation trailer that was blown up, so we went to another FOB to pick up and new set for them to continue their mission.

On our way back to deliver the equipment, we had to stop at a check point to let our other platoon go through (Iraqi roads are small). So once they had passed, we proceeded through and I was the second vehicle in the convoy.I just happened to look out my window while I was driving and at that moment was when I got hit.I watched the explosion, and the shock from it shook my truck and opened my door at the same time. I saw my weapon, an M249, jump about a foot from where I had it positioned.Without even thinking, I slammed my door shut, but at that time it was too late.There was silence in my truck except for the air pressure alarm buzzing. I knew I had been hit, but I didn’t know how bad it was. All I could do was hold my leg as tight as I could, until my fellow soldiers cleared the area so it would be safe for me to get out.I had one other person in my truck (he is also from Missouri), and he called up on the radio that we had been hit and that we were all good, but he didn’t realize that I had been hit.When I told him that I wasn’t good, he asked how I knew. I said, “Can’t you see the blood pouring out of my boots?”So he called back up and gave the report. At that time it was clear they needed to get me out of the truck safely, so he and Pvt. Wilson helped me out the passenger side and performed our combat life saver (CLS) techniques. They had placed the tourniquet above my knee. If it would have been placed below my knee, I would have bled out and probably wouldn’t be here today. So I owe my life to Pvt. Wilson, Spc. Kerksick and Sgt. Best.

About 20 minutes later I was on a chopper on my way back to Balad, Iraq (also where I was stationed). That is where there was a vascular surgeon who saved my leg. Without him it would have been amputated.They also replaced 6 units of blood when I got there, and another two units after surgery because I was still bleeding a little.

After they got me stable, I had many people from my unit and brigade there to support me.I got a purple heart and three other coins. The purple heart meant the most to me. I will have it with me at all times, and I will never forget what happened and all my soldiers/friends who were there to support me. Soon after that they sent me to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany on Feb. 22. That was more of a pit stop to make sure that I was stable enough to fly back to the States.On Feb. 22, I was flown from Germany to where I am currently, at Walter Reed in Washington D.C.

I have had 7 surgeries as of now, and I have one more left and that will be on Sunday or Monday. Sunday or Monday I will have a skin graph done to close up the two remaining holes in my left leg. After that I hope to be out of here and back home within two weeks or so.I will still have to do some therapy to get walking again. I had to use crutches for the first time today, March 13, that’s better than what I was doing a week ago. I do have nerve damage to my left foot to where I can’t feel the bottom of my foot or my big toe. I can barely move my ankle and can put little to no weight on it when I walk.It takes time and, but I’m stubborn so I’ll be walking with in no time.

One more thing—my truck took a lot of damage but didn’t flip over. It had blown all 10 of the tires on the truck, messed up the air system, had at least three or four holes in the gas tank and had hit the trailer I was hauling. That’s all I could see while I was getting fixed up.At no time did I loose consciousness. I was alert the whole time, but the pain never really set in. I was calm to the best of my abilities and helped the best I could to speed up the process of getting me out of there and to a hospital.Well I hope this clears the story up a little bit more.

Zimmerman is a former student from Licking High School.

If you would like to write Zimmerman, send correspondence to Spc. Daniel Zimmerman, 11192 Little Oaks Road, Rolla, MO 65401

I also wanted to add that this incident was the first for our platoon and I'm proud beyond words of how quickly they were able to act. The confidence I heard in my soldiers voice after they knew Zimmerman was going to be okay was incredible. It sucks that it happened and we pray for SPC Zimmerman and his family. I'll be so glad when he's done with surgeries and back here at the Fort. Our platoon now knows we can take a hit and are able to get it together and get through it.

She Felt Sorry For Him

My little Korbin wanted his mohawk (mohog he calls it) back. He has been a good boy so I decided he deserved it. For anyone who is new to reading my blog Korbin had a mohog since last memorial day. In December he was having some real behavioral issues. I hid the clippers behind my back, called him over to me and then I grabbed him and shaved off his mohog! I told him that if he was going to ACT like a punk then he wasn't allowed to look like one. So he had to earn it back.

He's thrilled!

He also just celebrated his 6th birthday! We had a nice little party here at home and then we went to chucky cheese with 19 of our closest friends!

He had his buddy that dropped out of public school when we did at his side! His monster truck cake was made just for him by a friend of ours! Thanks Breanna! You're awesome!



The sweet little boy and his best girl hung out playing DS after the party!

Ok so back on track, the title of this post. We were at the PX looking at bikes trying to fit the boys on the right size. We had the help of 3 associates which is amazing because normally trying to get help in there is impossible.


So this old lady with a strong German accent came over to me and Korbin and he was holding a shoe box with his new sandals inside. She said "did you get the shoes or the haircut first"? I kept my mouth shut since the shoes weren't purchased yet. Then she leans over and whispers to me "Oh I see he gets to get a new bike to make up for the haircut!"




I almost lost it laughing it was so funny. Like I gave him a horrible haircut and was trying to make it up to him by buying him new bike!

We Were Told He Wouldn't but He Did

Our youngest son Korbin has been riding without training wheels since he was 4. At the time Tayton was 5 and we asked if he wanted to learn to ride without training wheels too. His response was "ummm Mom my bike is a tricycle, it doesn't have training wheels!"

Silly me! Not only was it a trike but it was a ginormous trike he could ride until he's 10 probably. Kirke and I can often be found hitching a ride on the back of that big ole thing!

Last year came and we bought them Green Machines so the year went by and he showed no interest in learning. I asked his occupational therapist what she thought about his abilities and if it was just a dream of mine. She told me that I shouldn't get my hopes up and not to push him because she didn't think that his sense of body awareness and balance as well as strength in his core and legs would be enough to master that skill then or even in the future.

Well he sure as heck proved us all wrong! A few days ago he and I were talking and he said he thought he was ready to try to learn to ride a two wheeler. I worried that it was going to be a losing battle. I have taught 8 kids to ride without training wheels before Tate. Only one of those was mine and it was Korbin and he was super easy. Teaching Tate was a whole different thing for me. Maybe because I was emotionally invested in his success. Maybe because it's often harder to teach your own kid things than other peoples kids (says the homeschooling mom).

So enough of my rambling. It took us three days, two brand new bikes (one for each kid), a ton of patience and the promise of new boundaries and we emerge with a 7 1/2 year old kiddo who can ride a bike from the pushing off to get going to braking to stop! Woohoo! And he finally let me take pictures too!

Now he can ride with his best friend! I taught her to ride last summer! Now if we can get her off that damn tiny bike! Grrrr!

He is so proud! He knows how big of a deal this is for him and he knows he's defying the odds!

The video you've been waiting for:

The Teacher Called in Sick

Last week the teacher called in sick. She said she had strep throat and thought she was gonna die. She didn't die. She's here.

How come no one sent a sub? Don't ya think that if a homeschooling mommy is sick they should send in a sub? That sub has to perform all of the duties of the regular teacher. These include but are not limited to keeping the boys up their school work according to the lesson plan. The lesson plan we try to follow but end up veering from daily! That's totally allowed by the way but only for the regular teacher! The sub must also perform the daily home school maintenance and cleaning. Meals must also be prepared for the students.

For some strange reason the doctor wouldn't write me a prescription for a sub or an excuse note from work! Nuts! Call it a snow day cause we took 3! All better now.....for now. Strep throat sucks just so you know.

Don't Distract Me I'm Trying to Drive!

Mario Kart is an important part of our evening routine around here these days. Ever since we got the Wii and found out our kids can play together without actually having to get dressed and go to one anothers houses and make messes and clean up said messes we've been all over that!

Tonight Tayton is racing a couple friends and Korbin keeps bugging him and he said "stop distracting me I'm trying to drive!"

I immediately take this as a teaching moment. I say "I told you so! It's really hard to drive when you two are acting like fools wild monkeys in the backseat!"

Tayton then replies "Mom, if you were driving on roads with lava next to you and fire balls in the road we would be quiet!"

And then Korbin pipes up to say "yeah and if people were crashing into you when you had to go over a ramp and throwing turtle shells and bananas at you we would be quiet too. Good thing that never happens right mom?"

So there you have it....that's what it's gonna take to get a peaceful roadtrip with this bunch!

Operation Kid Comfort

UPDATE: Not only does this organization make these quilts for free they also thank the bloggers who post about it! I got this comment this afternoon and wanted to include it in this post!

Operation Kid Comfort has left a new comment on your post "Operation Kid Comfort":

Thank you so much for posting information about your Operation Kid Comfort quilts and the joy this program has brought you children. Korbin and Tayton are adorable and look so happy with their OpKid quilts.

Thousands of America's Littlest Heroes, the children of our deployed men and women, have been served since Operation Kid Comfort began more then five years ago, on Make A Difference Day, 2003. It is wonderful to see blogs such as yours recognize the efforts of hundreds of volunteers that make this award winning program so special.

Information about the program, its origins, and how to participate in and support Operation Kid Comfort, please visit www.operationkidcomfort.blogspot.com or www.asymca.org.

Best wishes to you and yours. We will keep you and all our military families in our thoughts and prayers.

Ann FlahertyFounder, Operation Kid Comfort


The Armed Services YMCA has a program called Operation Kid Comfort. They make quilts (or pillows for older kids) with pictures on them for kids of deployed soldiers. We jumped in on that offer real quick and we got our quilts today! They are so perfect!

The note on the bag reads:

Dear Korbin/Tayton,

Hello! My name is K.C. That stands for Kid Comfort. Actually, my full name is Operation Kid Comfort but you can call me K.C.

So, I am a quilt and I know I am not supposed to talk but I just wanted to let you know how special you are. I can only imagine how hard it must be for you t not be able to see your Daddy everyday.

Hopefully I can help with that; just look at me! There are pictures all over me of you and the people that love you the most. Your name is on there and the seal of your Daddy's military organization is there as well!

I want you to know that it is okay to hurt and it is okay to cry. You can drag me around as much as you like. Sleep on me, cover yourself up with me, and hug me! I promise that I'll stay with you and help you through these tough times.

You also do not have to worry about getting me dirty. I like being washed in cold water with mild detergent on the gentle cycle. I especially like to air dry!

So, get ready to enjoy me!

I also wanted to let you know that lots of other people who helped make me are also thinking special thoughts about you and your family. There is the person that cut the fabric, another that printed out all your pictures and some special people who sewed me together and got me ready so that I could belong to you and only you!

Your Buddy,

K.C.