Sink please

The kids riding the elephant




Ok, going to attempt to just download some circus pics tonight...

In the meantime....

I am so ready for this remodeling to be DONE. I am tired of being cramped...no room to maneuver, no kitchen sink to do dishes (not that i like doing dishes, but doing them in the bathroom sink is very unkind), limited meal options bc of limited cooking options. I am just tired of it all. The vinyl floor covering is going down tomorrow (hopefully, that is the plan). I pray that it goes smoothly. After that, the cabinets can go in. Dad is making the countertops, as he discovered he has quite a knack for it when he made one for the small cupboard he put in a few years ago. The downside is he is working 6 days a week and trying to get over being sick. So, time is limited, energy sparse.

Jeremy is getting on my last nerve. Love him to pieces and lately, well, I would like to tear him to pieces....He has been so grumpy and unbearable. I can't stand it. He is getting sick and well, for some reason, men just can't handle that. I reminded him that it is not our fault he is sick. He is also stressed over this project as my dad is quite particular about things, Jeremy has never done anything of this caliber and well, everything that gets done is said to be wrong. I told my dad that nobody wants to get this work done bc they are afraid of being wrong....bc he gets so grumpy about it. My uncle has literally lost sleep over it all, worrying about doing some wrong and pissing my dad off. It's ridiculous. So, I know that adds to Jeremy's grumpiness. I am trying to teach him that things are what they are and rather than try to swim against the current, sometimes, you just have to give in and go with the flow. It saves your health.

School is going well. Parking sucks, but classes are great. I found out last night in my Leadership class that the college offers a Leadership certification. I am 2 classes short of earning it. I was unaware of this program beforehand or I would have been sure to take two more qualifying classes to get the certification. Oh well.

And on to Makenneh...the more I read about Oppositional Defiance Disorder, the more I am convinced that Makenneh has it. Her behavior is beyond normal bratiness. Of all the techniques, suggestions, etc that I have tried...nothing seems to work. She is so demanding, spiteful, angry, and unpredictable. She can be fine one moment and then the slightest thing sets her off into a tirade. I was reading one article about it and it mentioned walking on eggshells around the child. BINGO. That's how I feel. I am trying to stay one step ahead of the next episode. It's downright exhausting. I need to call and make her an appointment or at very least, see if we can get a referral to a therapist. She can be the sweetest of children, but then I am always waiting for the foot the drop and hell to break loose. I praise her to no end, I love on her, I play with her, read to her, talk with her, bring her along for outings, but even the outings are scary for me bc i never know when the explosion will occur or what will set her off to lead to the explosion. Just typing about it stresses me out. I have found that when I keep my voice almost low and soothing, it seems to lessen the tirade. The problem seems to be getting everyone else on board. I have been stressing that it is best not to yell at her, as that just turns into a power struggle. Speak level and remain in control. Hopefully her behavior will improve. At this rate, I won't survive teen years.

Well, she is up still, so I have to get her to sleep. That's the other issue with her...she cannot go to sleep at night.

Good night all