Rolling Stone (gonna find my picture on the cover, gonna buy 5 copies for my mother)...

So Rolling Stone magazine decided to put the Boston Marathon Bomber (the surviving brother) on their August 1, 2013 cover.  What do you think?  I've seen comment that it looks a little "Jim Morrison-ish"  If you didn't see the words "The Bomber," what would you think?  Nice looking guy.  Perhaps an up and coming musical artist?

But no.  He's a terrorist.  He moved to our country as a child, had a promising academic and athletic career here in the United States and then decided to blow it all.  Literally.  He and his older brother are responsible for planting the bomb at the Boston Marathon, killing and maiming a number of people.  Does this cover seem to glamorize him? 

Here's how Rolling Stone justifies their cover choice: 

Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone's long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens.

Hmmm...so in the interest of legitimate journalism, Rolling Stone wants to explore Tsarnaev's dark side.  Here's the rub:  log on to rollingstone.com, and you'll see the sub-tabs on tops:  Music - Politics - Movies & TV -  Reviews - Artists - Blogs - Videos.  Look down at the bottom of the page and you'll see their "channels":  pretty much the same list sans blogs.  My point:  since when did Rolling Stone decide to become, ahem, a serious news source?  My advice:  stick to the concert reviews, album reviews.  Tell us about the up and coming rock bands.  Maybe an update on country singer Randy Travis' condition (viral infection of the heart, stroke), perhaps a profile of the late Cory Monteith...important news to the entertainment field, no doubt.

A terrorist?  Not entertainment.  Not hero-worthy.  Rolling Stone should stick to what it does best:  cover the entertainment industry.  Putting Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover of Rolling Stone - an entertainment magazine - is NOT the same thing as Time magazine (news magazine) as putting Osama bin Laden on the cover, despite assertions to the contrary.  Apples and oranges, people.

"Rolling Stone...gonna find my picture on the cover....Rolling Stone....gonna buy five copies for my mother..."   (Dr. Hook, 1973)

I'm not buying it...neither their statement, nor the magazine on the newsstand. 

His Magnetic Personality

He's seven and a half - well beyond the age of "knowing better." Yet Son #3 managed to swallow a magnetic rock several weeks ago. He was never the kid who put foreign objects in his mouth, even as a baby, but lo and behold, this time he did.

A couple of phone calls to our pediatrician and the local emergency room confirmed what we suspected. Since it was only one magnet and no other metal was involved, we just had to wait it out - pun intended. We were on high alert all week but no sign of the magnet. Not exactly something you can ask the school nurse to monitor, y'know?

After a week our doctor recommended an xray to be sure the magnet passed. That's not something you want to discover during an MRI years down the road. Xray showed all was clear.

I guess this means I can no longer threaten to stick him to the side of the refrigerator if he misbehaves.

Computer Withdrawal!!!

I've missed you all (and being online in general). To make a long story - well, less long (can't promise 'short'. You know me.) - my computer was infected with a couple of nasty trojans on December 4.

Virtumonde and FakeAlert made themselves at home on my p.c., infecting all sorts of files, including my start up registry, which meant *everything* slowed to a crawl. I'm not kidding. I was typing a Word document last week. I'm typing away all along looking at a blank white Word document. I get up from my desk, go to the fridge, pour myself something to drink, load a few dishes in the dishwasher and sit back at my desk, just in time to see my words appearing one by one as if a ghost was typing them.

Side Note #1: I'm rather angry at McAfee right now. First, I renewed my annual Security Suite subscription on Oct. 21 - three weeks before expiration - and I have auto updates. Nevertheless, Virtumonde (which has been around since 2005) managed to slip past. How does that happen? Second, the viruses occurred during a visit to a "McAfee Approved" (green) site. To make matters worse, when I did a full system scan, it didn't even detect Virtumonde.

I contact McAfee Live Chat. They used to be great - they'd email you instructions on how to remove viruses. Not anymore. Now they charge $89.95 per incident to remotely remove your virus(es) for you. Excuse me, five weeks prior I paid them $69.95 to protect me in the first place. No way are they getting more of my money.

Side Note #2: I read about PC Tool's Spyware Doctor. It got excellent reviews and at $29.95, I thought it might be worth a try. It's a faster scan than McAfee, it found Virtumonde but couldn't remove it. I must say, I was impressed with their tech support. Twice I received an email reply within 24 hours. As of Dec. 18, my issue had been 'escalated' which I believe means that someone 'higher up' would take a look. However, as their 30-day satisfaction guarantee came to an end - with no resolution - I decided to cancel and get a refund. I wouldn't, however, rule out using them in the future.

So on Saturday, we go to Best Buy. Trying to decide whether to buy a new desktop p.c. to replace the possessed one, or whether to splurge on a laptop for me. We found a nice deal on a Dell. It's so new, they don't have it in stock yet, but hopefully it'll arrive Tuesday and I'll pick it up. (By the way, Brad at Best Buy is earning his commission or hourly rate - whichever.)

Since we committed to buying a laptop, I thought I'd make one last attempt at salvaging my 4-year old desktop. As in, scrubbing the hard drive and reinstalling the recovery disks I made when I first purchased the computer. What possessed me to create recovery disks is beyond me. I'm sure I was prompted to do so, but I don't recall neither hide nor hair. But sure enough, I have seven CD's labeled in my handwriting HP Recovery Disk #___ of 7.

Yesterday, I backed up all my digital photos and loaded all our playlists on iTunes so I can sync our Apple Christmas gifts (Touch for me, Nano for Dear Hubby, Shuffle for Son #2) one last time. Today, I "recovered" the p.c. and reset it to the way it was in August 2004. It took a few hours to reinstall the important stuff: Microsoft Office, Windows Updates, iTunes8, McAfee Security Suite (my subscription is valid through Nov., so I thought I might as well use them until then).

McAfee detected and quarantined a less malicious trojan (no Virtumonde!) and this computer - despite its age - is blazing! We're using it for a general family p.c. (as always). Dear Hubby is starting classes soon (more on that later), the kids need it for homework, etc. The laptop is mine and for emergencies.

I have so much to catch up on and hopefully, if all goes well with this computer, I'll be able to update you all soon. Thanks for hanging in there.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

What a Week! - Part Two

You've heard about Son #1's travails in my last post. This post is about Son #2. He's a fun, funny, very sociable guy. He needs constant company (in contrast to his older brother). Earlier this week, he was a little bummed that the kid on our street that he usually plays with after school (I'll call him "Will" - not his real name) decided to go to another kid's house in the neighborhood. Will invited Son #2 along, but he declined.

Son #2 was a little mopey and when I asked him why he didn't go with Will, he said that the kid Will was going to play with is "not a good role model" (Son #2's words). I asked him to elaborate and he explained that this other kid uses bad language a lot on the bus and threatens to beat up other people. Wow. Unfortunately, this isn't terribly unusual behavior for the age group (10-11 year old boys), but I was really impressed that Son #2 took a stand, especially since it meant he didn't have anyone else to hang with that afternoon. I was very proud of him.

Fast forward to yesterday. I receive a phone call from the mother of one of Son #2's former friends. I'll call him "Greg" (again, not his real name). They met at the beginning of the school year when Greg moved here from another state. Son #2 was invited to Greg's house once, they had a fine time, but some weeks later, Son #2 told me that he and Greg weren't friends anymore because Greg called Son #2 and his other friend, Jack (another alias) "a bad name." Son #2 didn't know what the name meant, but Jack said it wasn't good, and by the way, Mom, what's a pervert? Lovely discussion we had, that's a lot Greg (I'm being snarky). We discussed it and decided it might be best to steer clear of Greg until he apologizes or at the very least, stops the name calling.

Greg's mom calls to tell me that Greg was very upset when she picked him up after school. Apparently Greg's friends are starting to 'fall away,' he's being tripped at school, that Son #2 hit him with a ball earlier that day, etc. Needless to say, I'm appalled but I also know there are two sides to every story so I tell her I'll talk with Son #2 and call her back.

Son #2 is no angel, but he's not a bully. He has on occasion gotten frustrated at another kid and called them a name (usually something pretty tame, but still unacceptable and I make sure he's reminded of it). But never has he physically lashed out at anyone. He has a lot of friends, but he's not the type to use them against one another. In fact, he's generally the peacemaker and doesn't choose sides when his other friends have an argument. If someone behaves badly toward someone else, it's usually Son #1 who tells them they're acting uncool.

Still, I ask Son #2 about it. He insists he's been steering clear of Greg. He admits to calling Greg a couple of names about a month ago when Greg called him "gay." Son #2 fired back with "bully" and one other that he conveniently forgot (uh huh. sure.). We talk again how name-calling is unacceptable and to knock it off. He insists that's been his only involvement with Greg.

I continue my interrogation (unlike Son #1, who'll tattle on himself almost immediately, serious conversations with Son #2 are like fine wines - they must be allowed to age and ferment).


Me: Did you physically touch Greg with any part of your body or any object?

Him: No, ma'am.

Me: Did you ever turn any other kids away from Greg? Suggest they shouldn't hang out with him?

Him: No, a lot of people stopped hanging out with him because he calls them names too.

Me: You didn't suggest that?

Him: No.

Me: Have you ever seen anyone push or hit Greg?

Him: Yes, _____ knocked him down last week.

Me: Did you ever throw a ball at him or even to him, if he seemed like he was joining your game?

Him: No, he doesn't join our games. He hangs out with _____ & ______. Another kid, _____, threw a football at him today.

Me: How do you get along with Greg's friends?

Him: Fine. We don't hang out because I steer clear of Greg, but when he's not around, we say "hey."


And so it goes. He sits next to me as I call Greg's mom. I mentioned again why Son #2 no longer hangs out with Greg (which she conveniently doesn't address). I told her Son #2's version of events. She responds with, "So he's saying he did nothing today? That Greg is making all this up? It's clear that you're absolutely going to believe your son..." I cut her off with: "Excuse me, but isn't that exactly what you're doing?"

I reiterate that Son #2 said he did not trip or hit Greg with a ball. I acknowledge that Son #2 isn't an angel and that he admitted to calling Greg names when Greg called him names. I reminded her that Greg called Son #2 a pervert months ago. I also tell her that I do believe Greg is being bullied, based on what Son #2 told me. But he is not bullied by Son #2. I'd love to work with her to sort this out, but I want specifics. I asked her to please ask Greg which ball hit him and did he actually see Son #2 throw it. In other words, was it the green soccer ball Son #2 was playing with or was it the football that Son #2 saw another kid throw at Greg?

While I'm holding on, I can hear her asking him in the background. I can't hear all of Greg's response but I did hear him say the name of the kid who threw the football. His mom asks another question, and Greg replies, "that was (football thrower), too." She gets back on the phone with a much better demeanor: "I'm sorry. I apparently misunderstood." I resisted the temptation to say, You bet your ____ you did! We put both boys on the phone and they apologize.

Prior to my calling her back, I spoke with Son #2 about whether it might be possible to salvage the friendship. He didn't know. They didn't know each other long when it soured and there's been a lot of headaches since. Fair enough. However, he did agree that they could apologize, declare a truce and be cordial. Perhaps Son #2 could even say "hi" and mention to other friends that Greg apologized for the name-calling, that Son #2 thought that took guts and that everyone deserves a second chance. Whether that influences anyone else to follow suit, I don't know.

What I think happened is that Greg was upset. He was telling his mom about his day, how people knock him down, call him names (hello pot, meet kettle), how people (insert numerous names, including Son #2's) aren't hanging around him anymore. I think she may have glommed on to Son #2's name and projected the rest. Still it bugs me that she not once addressed the fact that her kid slings around some pretty nasty names. Until she acknowledges his role in all this, and addressed it, I can't see this kid's days getting much brighter.

ARRRGGGG!

Interim reports came home yesterday. You know, those midway through the grading period reports that let you know how your child is doing so far.

Can someone please explain to me how a 12 year old, who cannot spell at all yet reads at a 12th grade level, is managing an A in spelling and a D in reading?!!!! I'm scratching my head. Son #1 generally tries very hard. He'll get a lot of excellent grades peppered with the occasional not-so-great grade, but it usually balances out beautifully. This D, however, stems from one low test score and two missed assignments (which is out of character for him).

On his last report card, he had 5 As and 2 Bs. On this interim, he has 6 As and 1 D (which he'd better pull up or he'll be having a very Blue Christmas!). It's hard to rejoice over a half-dozen As when there's that lone D staring me in the face. But should it be hard? Six As are pretty impressive. And, as it stands now, if he ended up with these grade on this report card, he'd still end up with a 3.57 average and therefore make honor roll. With a D. Mind boggling.

Needless to say, there's a conference in our future. I called today to request an appointment, but I also want the resource teacher who's responsible for my son's IEP (individualized education plan) to attend in case we need to make modifications.

Not be outdone by his big brother, Son #2 also brings home a disappointing interim. One A, 4 Bs and 1 C. This is down from his last report card grades of 4 As and 2 Bs. Sigh.... While he didn't get the lowest grade in our family, he dropped in every class but one. That's perhaps more distressing that Son #1 who went up in one class and way down in another.

Son #2 is a trickier nut to crack. He's very smart, and in general, things come very easily for him - although that appears to be ending. He just likes to rush through his work, not read the directions completely. He has a completely different work ethic. Take his weekly geography assignment, for example. The teacher hands it out on Wednesday and the kids have a week to do the worksheet, using their text books. An easy A, right? Practically a gift from the teacher. How do you mess that up? By getting Bs and Cs on the worksheet? Why, I asked? Because he couldn't find all the answers. They're not all in the book, he says - but I'm skeptical.

Let's say he's right, though. He has an entire week to find the answers. And we now have highspeed internet. Heck, a week is enough time to go to the local library and check out a couple of books. But no. He finds the answers he can, guesses at the rest and turns it in the day after receiving the assignment (basically he turns it in 6 days early). I'm putting an end to that now.

If it were an issue of his not being organized, we can take steps to improve that. If he was struggling with the content, we could work on that. But how do you "fix" someone's work ethic? (Really, I'm open to suggestions.)

And for the record, I'm not completely opposed to Cs or even Ds. I'm just opposed to them for these kids. It's one thing if a child is struggling with a subject. Heck, I was that kid (math). Sometimes Cs and even Ds are reason to celebrate (or at least breathe a sigh of relief). But neither of my sons are struggling to grasp the material being taught.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* UPDATE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As I sat looking at the dates of Son #1's missed assignments, it occurred to me that they may have been handed out on an afternoon when Son #1 wasn't feeling well and spent 20 minutes in the nurse's office before returning to class. The teacher believes that was indeed the day, so she will allow Son #1 to make up both missed assignments and deduct 10 points, which I thought was generous. He should have been more proactive in asking, "what'd I miss?" She didn't sent the assignments home though on Friday so he'll get to work on them after the Thanksgiving break.

Busy, Busy (So What Else is New?)

It's been a busy first week of summer vacation. No reason to expect otherwise. I've - make that we've - been keeping busy running errands. A sampling: WeightWatchers by 10 a.m. (just to weigh in, no way I'm attending the meeting with three boys!), trip to Office Depot to buy lanyards for cub scout camp (sold out), trip to WalMart to buy lanyards, plus a couple of other things for camp. Hair cuts for all three boys at 11:30. Lunch with father-in-law at 12:30. Trip to Target to buy Dear Hubby's and sister-in-law's birthday gifts. Home for 40 minutes before heading back out the door for Son #2's baseball practice. And that was just yesterday. The rest of the week was similar.

Next week will also be busy, but not with errands. We'll spend all day Monday - Friday, at the cub scout camp. I'll be too tired, hot, sweaty, etc. to run errands in the evening. I hope the following week will be relaxing, but I suspect I'll have more shopping to do before Son #1 and Dear Hubby head to Boy Scout Camp in Tennessee on June 16th. You'd think that with the two of them gone for a week, things would be quieter at home. It won't be. Son #2 and Son #3 really "push each other's buttons" so being with just the two of them feels more like 5 kids! I'm hoping to send them each to spend one night at their PawPaw's house - on different nights.

I'm not complaining, though. Busy doesn't always = bad. However, I do need to carve out a little time for prayer and contemplation. Things will slow considerably by the last week in June, but I don't want to keep Him waiting.

By the way, I didn't post Weight Watchers Wednesday this week, because I skipped Wednesday's meeting (we had a wicked thunderstorm). I did go Thursday to weigh in and I weigh exactly the same as the previous week so apparently I'm recovering from the Memorial Day barbecue!

A Little Rant

I like my house, but it's small. Five people and two dogs in less than 1200 feet. (It's also located two doors away from The Jerry Springer Show, but never mind that today.) The real estate prices jumped substantially after Hurricane Katrina, but prices seem to be leveling off. Dear Hubby and I have been pre-approved for a loan, but truthfully there's not a lot in our price range in our area. We did find one that we liked a lot, but despite the fact that it's only two blocks away, it's in a different flood zone than our current home, which makes insurance significantly higher.

This past week our insurance company, Allstate, has announced that effective later this month, they will not write wind/hail policies on any new homes purchased by Allstate customers. (If you aren't already an Allstate customer, they won't write any type of homeowners' policies in our state.) This is a change from the way it was when we started our search a couple of months ago. At that time, if you were an existing Allstate customer, you'd be able to get wind/hail coverage on a new home. However, now even if we DO find a house we like, the only way we'll be able to insure it against wind/hail is to go with a state-sponsored insurance plan (read: costs a whole lot of money for very limited coverage). So much for the house hunting, it seems.

So, it looks like we're staying put. That being the case, I've been trying to set up cable TV service for the past two weeks. We bought the house new five years ago and never bothered to sign up for cable. I called the cable company's toll-free number which connects me with a call center located in another state. One person I spoke with was in Spokane, another in Minneapolis, and so forth. They 'opened a ticket,' which is apparently the first step in establishing service.

After not hearing back from them for a few days (they were supposed to contact me within 24 hours), I call the toll-free number again. This time I'm told that the cable company doesn't service my area. Uh yeah, it does, I explain. My neighbor to the immediate right has cable TV. My neighbor across the street had cable until switching a year ago to satellite. The house three doors to the left of mine has cable TV. They tell me I'll have to go to my local office to see if they can straighten it out. The 'local' office is 35 miles away and the call center can't seem to find a local phone number for me to call. Neither can directory assistance, or yellowpages.com.

I told the alleged customer service rep that I find it hard to believe that there's this one little "pocket" on my one-block dead end street that is not serviceable - and I'm it. Today I spoke to yet another person - this one in Tennessee - and she contacted her manager to see if she can't email my local office for help. The manager is supposed to call me back by the end of the week. I'm not holding my breath. I'm starting to think satellite TV might be the way to go.

Of course I deal with stress by eating and there's this whole box of Halloween candy sitting on the kitchen counter. Not pretty.

End of rant.

On a positive note, the essay that Son #1 wrote for the school's PTA-sponsored contest was one of 8 from his school chosen to go on to the district level. Woo Hoo!

I Live Down the Street From 'The Jerry Springer Show"

If you've been following my blog for awhile, then you already 'know' these folks. If you want details, you can read my August 25, 2005 and August 2, 2006 posts. Otherwise, here's a brief recap:

June '05, Stay Home Dad (he's collecting disablity) and Working Mom move in the house two doors down from ours with their autistic 12 year old son and 8 year old daughter. January '06, Stay Home Dad's 15 year old son from a previous relationship moves in. Stay Home Dad had no contact with 15 year old since he was two. The 15 year old's mom goes to jail and it's either foster care or moving in with biological Stay Home Dad. The dad initially told me he thought his son would be 'better off' in foster care, but a week later, 15 year old son moved in. A neighbor told me that the state 'strongly encouraged' him to take custody of his son, otherwise they would pursue the issue of, oh 13 years back child support.

Shortly after the 15 year old moves in, the Mom (his stepmom) moves out of the house and into her boyfriend's apartment. Mom and boyfriend are evicted from the apartment so they move into the house with her husband, step son and two kids. How cozy. Mom and boyfriend have since found another place to live - a dump of a hotel, according to the 8 year old daughter. (She didn't say it was a dump, but she did tell me the name of the place.)

So here's the latest. I've tried to be friendly with the 15 year old, in part because 1) I know he's had a tough childhood and 2) I feel really, really sorry for him that he's moved into that house. The 15 year old is on probation for breaking and entering. He likes to dress 'hip hop' - normally I'd say to each his own, but c'mon, we have a lot of little girls on the street who do *not* need to be seeing your drawers, thankyouverymuch. He's taken up smoking, stealing his dad's cigs. (Irony: can't afford to pay for your trash collection, but you can afford beer and cigarettes. Nice example, pops.) Dad's reply: "As long as I don't catch him...." PUH-LEEZE.

As for the 8 year old girl (she's probably 9 now), I've always thought she had severe ADHD or a hearing impairment. You tell her something, she'll say 'okay' and if you remind her later, she acts like she's hearing it for the first time. We've learned from her grandmother, that the girl does have a hole in one eardrum (complete hearing loss) and significant hearing loss in the other ear. This explains why she'll ride her bike in the middle of the street and not flinch when a car honks at her. According to Grandma, Stay Home Dad is supposed to take her to the doctor for this, but isn't. The girl is doing very poorly in school - I'm sure the hearing impairment is part of the problem but apparently the school has been sending notes home, but Stay Home Dad never sees them because he doesn't go over her homework or even check her bookbag. Finally the school called the Grandmother, who would like to take the kids, but has no legal right to do so.

There are some other things we've observed: 15 year old son speeding on a four-wheeler down the street when there were at least 6 kids under the age of 8 playing outside (riding a 4-wheeler on the street is illegal in our area), Dad getting behind the wheel of his car and driving away with an open beer bottle (violation of open container laws, among others), 12-year old autistic son left home alone, etc. Neighbors have called the police and social services. The police have been out a few times, but apparently nothing has come of it.

Grandmother bought the house for her daughter and son-in-law, with the agreement that they'd pay a certain amount in rent each month, but she made one crucial mistake. She listed them on the title as 1% owners, and therefore, she cannot legally evict them. Stay Home Dad knows this so where's his incentive to live up to his end of the bargain (he hasn't been, by the way). So now Grandma has to hire an attorney to see if she can get out of this mess.

Hear that sound? That's the sound of our quality of life and property values going down the toilet. Oy vey!

Well, It's About Time!

Seventy-six hours later, we finally have Dear Hubby's test results (see yesterday's post). All is well. whew.

Basically, Dear Hubby has a heart condition. Well, technically his heart is in great shape. It's the arteries that aren't.

This from www.webmd.com:

"Cardiac enzyme studies measure the levels of the enzymes troponin (TnI, TnT) and creatine phosphokinase (CPK, CK) in the blood. Low levels of these enzymes are normally found in your blood, but if your heart muscle is injured, such as from a heart attack, the enzymes leak out of damaged heart muscle cells and their levels in the bloodstream rise.

Because some of these enzymes are also found in other body tissues, their levels in the blood may rise when those other tissues are damaged. Cardiac enzyme studies must always be compared with your symptoms, your physical examination findings, and electrocardiogram (EKG, ECG) results."

There are factors that can affect the test, including strenuous exercise (which he hadn't done in a couple of days) and cholesterol-lowering medications (statins, which Dear Hubby takes).

A normal CPK level for a man is in the range of 55–170 international units per liter (IU/L). Dear Hubby's was over 4,000 - yes, that's three zeroes - in the first test. The doctor called to see how Dear Hubby was feeling (fine) so she recommended that he discontinue one of the statins and go for another test a week later.

His CPK level in the second test is within normal (150 IU/L). While I'm relieved, I'm still annoyed that the doctor had the first set of test results within hours, but it took over three days for the second test. End of rant.

Thought of the day: Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I Grew Up.

Love Thy Neighbor?

I've blogged about this family once before, on August 25, 2005. They moved to our neighborhood - two houses down - in June 2005. To recap, there was a stay-home dad (he collects disability), the Potty Mouth Mom, a 12 year old autistic son, and an 8 year old girl. Stay-Home Dad and Potty Mouth Mom would frequently argue outside their home - every other word was a expletive. Well, one day last fall, Potty Mouth Mom decided to move out of the house and into an apartment with her boyfriend who works at the same grocery store she does. Stay Home Dad lives in the house with the kids. Potty Mouth Mom and the Boyfriend visit occasionally. (The house was purchased by Potty Mouth Mom's mother and a few other folks - I don't believe that Potty Mouth Mom and Stay Home Dad are listed on the title.)

In December, Stay Home Dad's 14 year old son from a previous relationship moved in with them. Apparently when this child was around 3 years old, his mother decided not to let Stay Home Dad visit anymore, so Stay Home Dad discontinued paying child support. The 14 year old's mother went to jail for something and the kid was put in a group foster home. Stay Home Dad told me about it previously, and one day I asked how it was working out getting to know his son. Stay Home Dad told me outright that they're taking their time to get to know one another but that he (Stay Home Dad) told the 14 year old that he was 'better off where he is' (meaning the foster care system).

Part of me wonders what I would do if it were me: what would it be like bringing a 14 year old stranger who has his own issues into a home with a 12 year old autistic boy and an 8 year old girl. Then the other part of me thinks, geez, this is your SON. Grow a set and step up, will ya? Apparently the state threatened to hit Stay Home Dad up for 11 years back child support (don't know how they'd collect). I don't know whether this had any bearing on Stay Home Dad's decision to have the 14 year old move in, but I suspect it did.

Meanwhile, the trash piles up outside this home. Stay Home Dad leaves the garbage can by the curb all the time. It's overflowing and there are trash bags lined up along side. This tells me two things: 1) he apparently hasn't paid for his trash pickup service, and 2) racoons are going to rip open the bags and I'll end up picking up the trash that blows into the street.

Recently, a neighbor hosted a birthday party at another community's pool house. Stay Home Dad brings the daughter but says that the autistic child isn't feeling well and that if he's not back to pick up the girl when the party ends, would I mind driving her home? (sigh, okaaaayyyyy) I tell Stay Home Dad that I have to stop by KMart to exchange an toy that Son #2 received for his birthday but that never worked properly. I tell him his daughter can ride with us to KMart then we'll be home. No problem, he says. No problem until it's time for us to leave the party. His Daughter can't find her towel so I loan her one of my boys' towels. She changes into her clothes, but guess what? She didn't wear shoes to the party. Now, I won't bring her to KMart barefoot. Some people may not have a problem with it. I'm not one of those people. I have a big problem with it. So I end up driving the daughter back to her house and then back tracking to KMart. What a PITA.

According to the neighbor who lives between us, Stay Home Dad knocked on his door and asked to borrow $10 to put gas in his car. When Neighbor said he didn't have any cash, Stay Home Dad asked, "well, could you write me a check?" Uh no.

On one hand, I want to be a good Christian (love thy neighbor and all) but on the other hand, these people just drive me nuts.