AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!

The Fam just left on vacation without me. They are going to visit DramaMama's parents in New Mexico. That means that I am home alone for a whole week. I don't even get Memorial Day off from work. >>mumble grumble mumble<<

I have plenty of work to do at home and an occasional Suns game to keep me busy, so I should be fine.

Another day older...

I was born one mornin' and the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
and the straw boss said, "well bless my soul!"

Translated into yesterday:

I dragged my butt out of bed before the sun shined,
I picked up a shovel and started to whine.
I loaded fourteen tons, ended up on the floor,
and the girl boss said, "I loaded ten tons more!" :)

It was indeed an adventure. We arrived around 8:30 am to a rather large pile (which actually was 14 tons) of crushed granite. It was supposed to have been dropped in the driveway, but it covered the sidewalk and half the road. In all honesty, I didn't think the pile was all that big until we tackled it with shovels. I never knew rocks could have babies.

We had two wheel barrows and a passel of shovels. The neighbor kids wanted to help, which most of the time really didn't . We finally had it all in place by 4:00pm. We had to take numerous breaks due to the 105 degree heat. I put down four bottles of 32oz gatorade, along with several other drinks of water. You would expect a frequent "gotta go gotta go gotta go right now" sort of deal, but at the rate I was sweating, it wasn't ever an issue.

Several times during the day I used the garden hose to cool off my head, confirming that I am indeed a hosehead.

By the end of the day, I was feeling slightly nauseous and had a screaming headache which I understand is an indication of heat exhaustion/dehydration. I dont know how I could have drunk much more than I did.

The reason I was on the floor was that recently I have managed to tweak my back several times doing light stuff. I was probably 3/4 through with the day and it was complaining, so I went and laid on the floor to give it a break.

I went back out there and helped finish up after that. It was quite a job. The bear donned my spare pair of gloves and came out to 'help' us.

He had a little garden shovel with which he was putting 3 rocks in a little plastic wagon. At one point he got mixed up and started bringing rocks back and putting them on the pile.


DramaMama was wonderful and brought us cold rags to tie around our necks, sprayed us with cool water, etc.

I can almost move now, but pretty much everything I got hurts.

Things you never expected to hear...

From behind the bathroom door: "I made pee pee water!"
-- The Bear

Parenthood: How to Mess With Minds in Loving Way

We are all guilty. If not, you aren't trying hard enough. :)

Lately, the Bear has had a rash of "bad dreams in his eye" and has repeatedly visited us in the middle of the night scared and crying.

After an entire week of this, the zombified parental creatures were forced to drastic action. The monster spray trick has lost its effectiveness, so DramaMama decided to solve two problems with a single solution. It is also allergy season, so to help ease the little monkey's fears, she gave him some Benadryl, and told him it was "Monster Medicine". The genius in this is that Benedryl makes him sleepy. WOO HOO!

Dad kicked in an idea as well. Every night, I am the one that takes the Bear to bed. We feed the fish, give every one 'loves', read a book, say prayers, then tuck him in. After a couple night's of my prayer for the Bear not to be scared at night, I gave the task to the Bear. He is still learning how to pray properly, but I told him that he doesn't have to follow a set procedure, he can just tell Heavenly Father he is scared, and ask Him for help.

So that night after I had said a prayer, I asked the Bear if he would like to ask Heavenly Father to help him not be scared. "I don't know what words to say."

Fair enough. I helped him get started. Then I asked him what he wanted to tell Heavenly Father. "I'm scared." What do you want to ask Him?" "not to be scared. Name-of-Jesus-Christ-Amen." The last part at triple the speed.

The next night, the Bear asked me if I would help ask Heavenly Father to help him again.

He has has several good nights in a row. The monster medicine is working, and tonight, he went to bed without a whimper.