Early Gift For Mommy

When Sam got home from work today, we packed up the kids and took a drive to Lowe’s. The purpose of the trip was to get a teeter totter for the swing set/playscape in the back yard. Once we were there, we asked around and found out that the only way to get pieces for swing sets was to order them online. There was nothing in the store.

Sam noticed some patio furniture cushions and wanted to look at them for some chairs we have. It was then that she saw a beautiful rocking chair. I had bought two rockers for our porch a few years ago, but they were poorly made and just didn’t hold up. As we were looking at the chairs, Sam noticed that they had a bench rocker. After discussing things, we decided that we were going to get that for our side porch.

I had every intention of getting in the car and saying “Well, Happy Mother’s Day!” to Sam. But on the way out to the car, Ella asked her, “Is this your Mommy’s Day present, Mommy?” She said, “I suppose it is!”

Just like your typical man, as soon as we got home, I pulled the box out of the van, placed it on the porch and grabbed my tools! I was going to get this thing together today! Of course, I didn’t stop to think that Sam had worked all night and wanted to go to bed. She was in the house getting lunch together while I was glancing over the instructions.

It didn’t really take too long to put together, especially when I had help!

Andrew was all about trying to help me out. He wants to help SO bad. He kept bringing me pieces I didn’t need yet and pulling sockets from my socket wrench box. I look forward to the day when I can actually sit and build something with him and have him understand what we are doing.

In the end, the rocker came out great and really is a nice addition to the porch.

As I finished it up, mom went in the house to get some sleep. She should have been the first one to sit on it, but of course, that wasn’t the case.

Looks like this bench is like that cereal, “Kid tested, mother approved!”

Happy early Mother’s Day, Babe. I look forward to being able to rock with you on this over the summer. They even have a beer I can bring …

I Should Have Known

Yesterday morning when I came home from work, the family shared some donuts I picked up from a local shop. It has sort of become a Saturday morning treat.

Sam may have caught a cold and she wasn’t feeling well yesterday. I told her to lie down and I would take the kids outside with me.

I have been meaning to tear the trampoline apart for a while and figured the weather was nice enough to do it while the kids played.

They were on the playscape, in the sandbox, and playing with various things in the yard while I worked. They were always in my line of site.

Occasionally, Ella would walk in the house. I assumed she was going in to get a drink or use the bathroom. The windows were open and I had to keep asking her to come back outside. I told her that I was almost done and we could go back in after that. She probably went in and came back out 6 times.

When I got the last of the big pieces apart, I told them we could go in for lunch. They went into the living room, where one of their shows was already on and I went and made lunch.

It was only when I walked into the living room to put their lunches on the table that I realized the reasons for Ella’s trips inside. When I looked to my right, there was a bunch of sand from the sandbox all over the floor and carpet. She had been taking it in one cup at a time!

“Can I bring the sandbox in the house, Daddy?”

Sigh….

I vacuumed, but I have a feeling there will be sand there for a few weeks…..

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder ..

Forgive me if I have blogged about this before. Every spring my yard seems to be filled with dandelions. Those stupid weeds!

That’s not the way the kids feel about them, however. They are “pretty” or “beautiful” flowers. They are fascinated by them.

Yesterday, Ella was picking a special bouquet for mommy.

Today, Andrew was out picking them too!

I’m sure that as a kid I picked my share of dandelions for my mom. She displayed them in a plastic cup in the kitchen, just like Sam did.

Weeds? Nope. Exotic flowers for a special someone.

May 5th History Lesson

The Origin of Cinco de Mayo

A little known fact is that back in 1912, Hellmann’s mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico but as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York.

The ship hit an iceberg and sank and the cargo was forever lost. The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were inconsolable at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning which they still observe to this day. The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course as Sinko de Mayo.

I have been telling this joke for years. I used to tell it on the radio all the time and was always amazed at how many listeners had never heard it before.

It remains one of my favorites! Feel free to share a laugh today!!

May 4, 2023

Star Wars Day

My very funny friend, Dobie Maxwell, says – Today is ‘Star Wars’ day – “May the 4th be with you.” Tomorrow is Alcoholics or ‘Bar Wars’ Day – “May the 5th be with you.”

Starting the blog with a laugh!

Thank You!

Yesterday’s blog was on kind of a serious topic. I wanted to take a minute to thank those of you who left supportive and positive comments, as well as those who emailed my privately. I really do appreciate you.

I have a telemedicine visit with my doc today to discuss this further. I may have to do a medical release so that my doc and therapist can discuss things together and formulate a plan. I will keep you posted.

Update

I guess I am a poor planner. I missed National Library Week and National Librarian’s Day last month. I had mentioned in a past post that my brother, who works as a librarian, will be writing a guest blog soon. If I had looked ahead, I could have had that blog ready to tie in to one of those events. Whoops. It is coming though.

Two Pictures

My daughter came into the living room the other day wearing a pink dress and one of my baseball hats. All I could think of was A League of Their Own –

Andrew loves to help clean. He helps pick up the toys, load the dishwasher and is obsessed with the vacuum. Sam found one that actually works online. It plays some really annoying music at times, but it is fun to watch him vacuum with us.

Have a great Star Wars Day!!

Mayday! Mayday! I Have Problems!

I cannot believe that we’ve turned the page on the calendar again and it is May! I’m not complaining, because May means nice weather is on the way. I’m looking forward to my neighborhood walks and sunshine.

Those walks and the nice weather will certainly help me. I have been struggling a bit. I noticed it a while back, but thought maybe it was just related to not getting enough sleep. However, after having a discussion with my therapist, I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at things.

I have felt like my temper is a bit shorter than normal lately. My patience level is sort of nonexistent. This is unacceptable to me. The littlest things are setting me off. After some discussion, she asked if I have ever been screened for or diagnosed with ADHD. I haven’t.

She mentioned quite a few things that I felt would apply to me. So I’m going to follow up with my PCP. I did some reading online and some stuff really hit the nail on the head.

“Emotional sensitivity and trouble controlling emotions are more signs of ADHD. Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is common in adults with ADHS. RSD is extreme emotional sensitivity that occurs when someone fears they are being criticized or rejected by someone else.“

This is totally me. I tend to be defensive. Part of that is because of my past relationships. Constant criticism and rejection caused me to become very defensive. I hate that.

“Another aspect of emotional control and ADHD can be a quick temper. Someone with ADHD may get extremely irritated but move on from it quickly. ADHD can co-occur with mood disorders like depression, bipolar and anxiety.”

My wife says that I can go from 0-100 when I get angry. That is so true. The anger is there quickly. I already have anxiety and some depression, so I wonder just how much of this plays into my quick temper.

“Staying organized can be difficult for anyone, but those with ADHD will have a more challenging time keeping track of things and logically completing them. That’s because ADHD is associated with weakened function of the prefrontal cortex, or the part of the brain that controls behavior, emotion, attention and organization.“

Sam can tell you I am NOT organized at all. They joke with me at work about how my work station is set up – its a mess. I can be organized to a point, but I would say I am one of the most unorganized people. “I know it is here – somewhere – I just don’t know where!”

“Someone with ADHD may jump from task to task because they’re excited about those things, not because it’s a logical order.”

I will tend to do the things I WANT to do first, rather than the things I NEED to do. This happens ALL the time.

“Another extremely common symptom of ADHD is difficulty managing time. You may often be late for things or have difficulty sticking to your schedule. It’s not always being late or not showing up, but it can be more subtle, like procrastinating tasks and working on tight deadlines. You also may be regularly forgetful to the point that it causes disruptions in workflow or damages relationships.”

My wife likes to remind me of how I love to put things off. Things I need to do, but just don’t for whatever reason. Some of those things I put of to avoid confrontation.

“Trouble concentrating is one of the best-known ADHD symptoms, thanks to the reduced function of the prefrontal cortex. According to the DSM-5, a diminishing attention span is a core symptom of ADHD. Anything can draw your focus from the task at hand — noises, people talking or daydreaming. Because of this lack of focus, you may overlook important details, lose chunks of conversations and have difficulty completing tasks.“

I often find myself zoning out. My wife has had to call my name three or four times while I get caught up in something on TV. Everything else just fades out and my focus shifts to that.

My therapist thinks that if it truly is ADHD, if those things are treated, everything else will start to get better. More control over my emotions and more patience. I hope she is right.

A “Foul”low Up Chuckle.

A few days ago I had an accident with a goose. It flew into my vehicle. It busted up the radiator and my car is in the shop. My co-workers had a field day with my bad luck.

I had to share what my co-worker did to my sticky note book mark –

A for creativity!!

Forget the Nose Pickin’

Remember that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry is itching his nose in the car and the driver next to him thinks he is picking his nose? I can think of a few stand up comedians who have also used the topic of nose picking and boogers to bring laughter from their audience. Today, I read an article about nose picking that is “snot” funny at all …

An article from http://www.sciencealert.com says that a study done last year shows a “plausible link between picking your nose and upping the chances of developing dementia.” Apparently, this happens in “cases where picking at your nose damages internal tissues, critical species of bacteria gain an easier path to the brain, which responds to the bacteria’s presence in ways that resemble signs of Alzheimer’s disease.”

Now, for what it is worth, “the supporting research is based on mice rather than humans, but the findings are definitely worth further investigation.” The scientists in Australia say that the bacteria that can cause pneumonia can actually travel from the nose to the brain and that bacteria has been seen “in the majority of human brains affected by late-onset dementia.”

“We’re the first to show that Chlamydia pneumoniae (the bacteria) can go directly up the nose and into the brain where it can set off pathologies that look like Alzheimer’s disease,” neuroscientist James St John from Griffith University in Australia. We saw this happen in a mouse model, and the evidence is potentially scary for humans as well.“

The scientists were surprised by the speed at which the bacteria took hold in the central nervous system of the mice, with infection happening within 24 to 72 hours. It seems that viruses and bacteria see the nose as a very quick way to get to the brain.

They are unclear if the effects would be the same in humans. They certainly feel that further study should happen as the origins of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are hard to determine and both diseases are extremely complicated. There are many studies happening and with “each piece of research brings us a little bit closer to finding a way to stop” them.

Incidentally, nose picking isn’t such a rare occurrence. Believe it or not, it is believed that 9 out of 10 people are “pickers.”

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/nose-picking

Celebrating Some Supers

Today is National Superhero Day! I think every child grows up exposed to superheroes. I know as I look back on my childhood there were plenty of them.

My brother and I would wake up on Saturday mornings and watch The Superfriends!

Batman and Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman were always there. Sometimes the Wonder Twins were part of the team with their ridiculous monkey and sometimes, it was the even more annoying Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog.

My brother and I were introduced to Batman long before this. We always loved the 1966 TV show.

We were also familiar with Wonder Woman. Lynda Carter was one of my first childhood crushes!

I had other superhero cartoon characters I loved just as much –

My love of rhyme may have stemmed from episodes of Underdog!

Underdog had a pretty amazing theme song, which seemed to be common with cartoon superheroes. Case in point:

I loved watching your friendly neighborhood Spiderman – and singing along with the theme song. Another example:

The number one super guy – Hong Kong Phooey! Scatman Crothers provided the perfect personality and voice for this bumbling character.

Speaking of bumbling superheroes, many won’t remember these guys –

Strong Man, Tornado Man, Rope Man, Diaper Man, and Cuckoo Man were about as crazy as they came. It was always a treat to catch them on TV.

I used to love Blue Falcon, because the great Gary Owens provided his voice!

I guess I still love superheroes even as an adult. One particular family is a favorite

I won’t lie – I hope there is a third Incredibles movie!

Today, I salute these heroes and the many real life super heroes!

Who is your favorite superhero?