Crochet Me Crazy

This is one New Years I don't think I'm going to be awake to see it roll in. I'm pretty exhausted tonight. Another long day with my mom at the rehab and I'm feeling the pressure as the week wears on. I went back tonight and my mom's roommate was saying my mom had been carrying on and upset ever since I left at 3:30....I had only been gone 2 1/2 hours! She couldn't get her to calm down and was punching the nurses button for my mom all afternoon. Oh she was angelic and sweet once I got back. She was wet and hadn't eat for them. I brought her a sandwich which she ate. She was bright eyed and bushy tailed and not acting sleepy like she normally does so I got out of there late. I just got home and its 9:30. The physical therapist talked to me today about me trying to work with her on her motivation...trying to get her to try to get up by herself. I feel like a lot of her success depends on someone being there with her since she gets so upset when she's alone. It's hard for anyone to get through to her. It's so heartbreaking...sometimes she wants to cooperate with me and do what I'm telling her to do but she doesn't understand. I just wanted her to lean forward so we could change her shirt. I finally got her to do it by getting her to lean forward to hug me. Her broke arm is hurting her now because they have been excercising it. She didn't want to use it to eat today. Usually, she will use it.
Well, I guess I'll stop whining now. The sounds of fireworks are going off everwhere around me.

Here's a picture of my pretty little mama:


I get a little bit of crocheting done when I'm there during the day. Going to bring some easy, quick projects to work on like hats and scarfs. I think I'll have a set finished tomorrow.

Happy New Year everyone!

I bowled for the first time in about 20 years. My sister, her boyfriend and her 3 kids all decided to go bowling tonight. We had a lot of fun bowling but it seems bowling alleys, or at least the one we went to, aren't the family friendly places I remember them to be when I was a kid. It was the first time Alison has bowled and the kids are ready to go back. Apparently, its where people go to drink, pass out, and throw up. We came out to our truck to find we had been burglarized. They stole our stereo, Jeff's blackberry, MP3 player and his gun and screwed up the locks on our door royally. We spent the next hour and a half waiting for the police to show up. While all 8 of us are standing out in the parking lot waiting, we saw two different vehicles driving through the parking lot looking suspicious. A girl with us saw one of the cars circle, park for a couple of minutes and then drive off. A few minutes later a guy comes running over to us asking how long we had been standing out there...his truck had been broken into about 20 minutes ago. Apparently, that car had robbed his truck right under our noses! We had bowling alley check surveillance cameras and they saw our truck being robbed and the two guys doing it. The car we saw was the same type of car we saw when we were standing out there! Apparently, they came back! It makes me sick that miserable low lifes make a living off of hard working honest people. This is the 2nd time our truck has been burglarized...the last time was in San Antonio. I guess if I ever go bowling there again, we'll drive our old beater...the Tercel since our truck seems to be a hot target.

I finished Alison's pinata for her birthday party tomorrow! She wanted a heart shaped pinata so I got myself together and made it for her. It turned out so pretty!

I had my doubts about this one in the beginning because it was really hard to get the balloons to stay in the heart shape long enough to paper mache over them. Then it kept caving in but I eventually got it together and it turned out really cute! I made pink heart shaped rice crispy treats. I am waiting for the cake to cool right now so I can ice it. This should be interesting...a friend had ballet slipper cake pan so I'm going to attempt it!





We took Alison to see the Nutcracker Ballet for her birthday a week ago! Since we homeschool, we went to a school performance during the day for discounted prices. It was great fun! We let her open one of her birthday presents that day. I gave her the boots she's been wanting so she changed into those and wore them to the ballet.



Daddy and Alison the row below us at the ballet...



My beautiful daughter.... and she's just as pretty on the inside.



Here's my last brag....I left my kids alone for a few hours this week and this is what they made!! My husband had brought home this wooden crate from work and it was sitting in the yard. They thought is would make a nice nativity so they cut out these figures from an old Ron Paul for President Yard Sign (corrugated plastic) and then painted them. I think it is so amazing! Not a stitch of help from mom or dad. They shredded paper for the hay.




They also made a cross out of old fence posts and then wrapped it in lights. The pictures not so good because it was so foggy that the camera was actually picking up the moisture in the air that night.

My sister is giving me a break and I'm at home trying to get ready for Alison's birthday party on Saturday. I'm working on making a pinata today, baking her cake, etc. I'll be with my mom Monday through Wednesday next week and my sister is coming back to be with mama on Christmas Day. I'm grateful for that...my kids were starting to get worried when I told them I was probably going to need to be with my mom on Christmas Day even. I think it is really helping my mom not to be left there alone and my sister has raised quite a "ruccous" over the problems there have been since my mom has been there. My sister said that mama had a really good day yesterday. The therapist is trying to be creative in his approach with mama and he got her to scoot over on the bed (a big accomplishment) and she even stood up partially with help on the bars! Once she realized what she was doing, she freeked and got scared and tried to sit back down. She can do this if she can overcome the fear.

It is an awful place but the therapy is pretty good. Unfortunately, that's only an hour a day. My mother is absolutely terrified. My sister has been in town for the past week and mostly at my mom's side all week. I have been gone a good part of the week but its only going to get worse when my sister leaves. My mom is not being tended to properly so leaving her there alone could be dangerous. My sister left for a little while this afternoon and came back to find her in a very dangerous position with no one in site. It could have been very bad and it was very upsetting. My mom is completely dependent right now because of her injuries. She has to be fed, changed, since she can't stand up. We plan on getting her out of there as soon as humanly possible. We have found a place that seems close to wonderful for her once she gets through this rehab. It's a pricey place with a home/cottage type atmosphere with only 16 alzheimer residents. It is designed to be assisted living through end of life care. We looked at lots and lots of places and this the best we've seen so far.

The assisted living called me around midnight on Sunday night to tell me my mother had fallen in her room and they were calling an ambulance. I rushed down there and got there while they were trying to get her onto the back board. The news at the hospital was bad. She had broken her shoulder and her hip. She had a hip replacement surgery and a plate put in her shoulder today. She did great during surgery and was in her hospital room recovering when we left her tonight. Still trying to let the anesthesia wear off. What happens next depends on her and how she does during the rehabilitation/physical therapy. It's hard to say because of her Alzheimer. She was very confused in the hospital and doesn't really understand where she is or what is happening to her. It is absolutely heart breaking to see. Alzheimer is very cruel and I hate it.

Here's a picture of a purse I crocheted awhile back and just realized I hadn't taken a picture of it yet. I had started making these squares to make a baby blanket. After making a stack of squares I decided I didn't want to make that blanket because there were too many color changed and ends to weave in so I turned the squares into this bag instead. I may let Alison use this as her dance bag. I sewed the handles on wrong so it looks like a top! I think you could make a little halter out of squares like this!


I'm happy to say that I have almost completely finished my Christmas shopping and I didn't buy ONE present at Wal-Mart! Yea!!!! The majority of our presents came from Sears and Academy and Radio Shack. The few things I have left to buy will be bought on-line.

Well, it got chilly last night so we lit the fireplace for the first time this year and watched a Christmas movie on the Family Channel.

We decorated the Christmas tree Sunday night. It's getting harder and harder to keep the tradition of lifting the kids up to put the angel on the tree! LOL -- Michael is taller than me now so here's Daddy lifting Michael up to put the angel on the tree:






I'm making a Christmas tree skirt for my tree but I had to stop because I ran out of white yarn so I went back to working on a blanket I'm working on for Michael. I had a bunch of squares I am determined to use and get out of a basket in my foyer. A bunch of ugly squares! They don't look half bad once they are in the blanket!